On Wednesday morning I had the great pleasure of meeting about 20 of our community's leaders at my office. No, it wasn't the President, Governor, or the City Council...it was the Guffey Elementary Character Council. This great group of students had requested to visit the Jefferson County American Red Cross office over a month ago. Who could have predicted the newsworthy events the Red Cross would be responding to in that length of time? The Character Council had learned about the Red Cross earlier this year and came with very good questions. I reviewed with them how the Red Cross serves its humanitarian mission through disaster response, preparedness training, CPR/First Aid training, and a role they were interested in - babysitter training. We wrapped up with a tour of the DAT truck and how volunteers support families affected by local disasters, no matter their size.
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| Students from Guffey Elementary explore the Disaster Action Team truck, which responds to local disasters and fires. |
Surprising to me, two young ladies in the group had written a poem about the Red Cross and read it proudly. Also, the up-and-coming statesman of the group, the Character Council President, presented an envelope with nearly $500 that was collected in just two days since the tornado!!
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| Two students shared a poem about the Red Cross. |
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| The Character Council President presented an envelope with nearly $500 raised for the Joplin Tornado Response. |
It was certainly my honor to get to meet such a dynamic group of students and answer their questions about the American Red Cross. I know with a group of leaders like this, the future of our community is in good hands.
Dale Chambers is the manager of the Jefferson County Service Center in Arnold, MO.