MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) -The Pillowcase Project is a preparedness education program for children in grades 3 – 5, which teaches students about personal and family preparedness, local hazards, and basic coping skills.
Generally given as a 60 minute presentation by Red Cross volunteers, the program leads students through a “learn, practice, share” framework to engage them in disaster preparedness. Students receive a sturdy pillowcase upon completion of the program in which they are encouraged to build their personal emergency supplies kit. Presentations are customized to focus on a hazard that is important and relevant to the local community. In Horry County that mainly includes house fires.
“The kids need to be comfortable that they can survive that they thought about bringing to a hurricane shelter for three or four days while the infrastructure is rebuilt to support them better for the long term and this gives them the opportunity to be empowered,” Disaster Manager Lou Palm said.
Ocean Bay Elementary School is the first in the area to participate in the project.
The New Orleans chapter originally developed the project after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The program, currently sponsored by Disney, was standardized and updated in 2013 and pilot tested in several Red Cross regions.
The Pillowcase Project has now been expanded to include 60 Red Cross regions implementing the pilot in 2014, covering most states in the U.S. and in Puerto Rico. The Global Disaster Preparedness Center is also working with Disney support to expand the program internationally in 2014, pilot testing international implementation in 6 countries.
