Red Cross Disaster Services provides material assistance that may include feeding, shelter,clean-up kits, comfort kits and financial assistance.

In addition, Red Cross Disaster Services also minimizes immediate disaster-caused suffering through listening, guidance, advocacy, and counseling.

 

 

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Youth Volunteers

Objective

  The purpose of the American Red Cross youth program is to train youth to include volunteerism as an essential part of a balanced life by exposing them to the mission and the fundamental principles of the American Red Cross.  This program teaches youth how to organize, lead, sustain, and build a volunteer organization and provides them with opportunities to try new things.  The youth are involved hands-on in the programming of the American Red Cross of Greater Houston, and they are encouraged to generate new programs. This objective is met primarily through the creation of American Red Cross clubs.  Any community organization can sponsor an American Red Cross club, but the majority are school-based service groups.  Working with the local American Red Cross Chapter, club members participate in service projects that will impact their school and community.  Student members are given many opportunities for self-development and are encouraged to choose, plan, and develop activities that will most effectively meet the needs of their club, school, community, and the American Red Cross.   

Philosophy

In 2002, Independent Sector and Youth Service America published Engaging Youth in Lifelong Service, a report illustrating that adults who volunteered in their youth now donate more money to charitable causes and volunteer more time than those who began their philanthropic efforts later in life.  Forty-four percent of adults volunteer, and two-thirds of those volunteers began volunteering in their youth.  In every income and age group surveyed, those who volunteered as youth give and volunteer more than those who did not.  High school volunteering has reached the highest levels in the past fifty years, and the goal of the youth program at the American Red Cross of Greater Houston is to infuse that initial interest in volunteering into a lifelong commitment to philanthropic and community-serving activities.

Historically, volunteerism has been driven by housewives, church attendance, and youth programs like the Boy Scouts.  With these factors generally in decline, the American Red Cross specifically defines one of its missions as training youth to make volunteering a lifelong habit and to take leadership positions in volunteer organizations.  The youth program at the American Red Cross of Greater Houston works to fulfill this mission.

Young people are concerned about the world in which they live, but they often feel that they cannot affect change.  By volunteering, youth can impact their situation and move it in a direction that is meaningful to them.  Statistics show that youth volunteers perform better in school, are less likely to have legal difficulties, feel connected to their community, and gain experience in leadership roles.  This program also gives youth opportunities to work with adults as peers.  These volunteers are no longer in a teacher-student or parent-child relationship with adults; they can speak openly and share their ideas with people of all ages - a skill necessary for their lives after graduation.

Structure

  Each club is created and run by the youth members themselves, but there are certain guidelines in place to ensure that each club is run in a way that best reflects the mission of that club.  Each club has a club sponsor who is typically a staff member willing to supervise club activities.  The club sponsor is chosen by the group of students who start the club, but the sponsor must be approved by the Youth Governing Board.  The club itself has student officers that run the meetings and guide the activities of the club.  Clubs typically have a president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer, but clubs can also have additional officers depending on the size and needs of the specific club.  These officers are elected by all of the members of that club.   [add a paragraph about how the Youth Committee Board is constructed]

Program-Wide Events

Although the focus of the program is to decentralize leadership and planning to the individuals clubs, there are several program-wide opportunities each year to serve as a framework for the clubs to follow.  At the beginning of the school year, there is a program-wide recruitment open to all interested individuals; this is a casual event that gives potential participants the opportunity to meet club members, learn more about existing clubs and the potential for creating a new club, and talk with American Red Cross personnel and volunteers.  There are two program-wide fundraising events each year - one in the fall and one in the spring - that help clubs to raise funds for their own clubs and for their donation funds; see Financial Issues.  At the end of the school year, the Student Volunteer Recognition Dinner awards those students or clubs that have served above and beyond in specific areas.  Over the summer break, the Youth Leadership Development Conference provides workshops, speakers, and activities for the youth to develop the potential of their clubs and their own potential as individuals.  These activities help guide the youth in a positive direction so that their club can have continuity and strong leadership.

Club-Specific Events

At the individual club level, youth participate in several more events that depend on their specific community; American Red Cross clubs should always be relevant to their communities.  The club school year begins with the Youth Leadership Development Conference in the summer.  In August, before school begins, each club has an organizational meeting to set a basic framework for the upcoming year.  In September, each club will hold officer elections and set the club agenda and budget; having these in the fall instead of the previous spring allows new members to participate in the process.  Each club also participates in the fall recruitment event sponsored by the Chapter.  After the fall recruitment event, each club will collect its annual dues; see Financial Issues.  Clubs may also choose to have a spring recruitment event. The focus of the rest of the school year is on service projects and fundraising projects.  Each club has at least one fundraising project and one service project each semester for a total of two each year.  The fundraising projects can be those sponsored by the Chapter, or the clubs can create their own fundraising projects so long as the Chapter approves them in advance.  The same rules apply to club service projects; the Chapter provides possible service projects, but the clubs can also create their own so long as the Chapter approves them in advance.  The Chapter must approve projects that are not sponsored by the Chapter itself to verify that they follow the fundamentals of the American Red Cross; see Service Projects.  At the end of the school year, each club has its final meeting, which typically occurs as a celebratory event.  The youth members also attend the Student Volunteer Recognition Dinner at the end of the school year.  

Financial Matters

The goal of the program is to be financially self-sufficient so that it can continue far into the future.  To this end, the program collects dues from its member clubs, holds fundraising events, and applies for grants from applicable programs.  This allows the program to utilize multiple sources of funding.

Each member club currently charges a minimum of five dollars in dues for each member of its club.  This money is then remitted to the Youth Services Department of the Chapter to pay for youth events, staff salaries, and other program expenses.  A club can choose to charge additional dues to support the club itself.  Each club is encouraged to conduct at least two fundraising events during the year to support the club and/or the youth program.  Club may raise money for philanthropic endeavors unrelated to the Chapter if (a) they are approved in advance and (b) they are specifically distinguished as not related to the American Red Cross; this is in accordance with IRC Section 501(c)(3) regulations.  As long as the fundraising concept is approved by the club sponsor and does not violate any laws or the morals of the community, the Chapter will not dictate what a club can and cannot do.

Participation in the program-wide fundraising events is not required; however, these fundraisers provide a convenient way for clubs to raise money for their clubs, and may be particularly appealing to clubs that are newer, smaller in size, or need direction or assistance.  These fundraisers are still planned and executed by students, but the Chapter provides support.  Funds raised at these events can be remitted to the club's activity account or contributed directly to the Chapter at the decision of the club.  Many of the clubs are located in areas served by a branch office; the clubs are encouraged to coordinate their fundraising efforts with those of the specific branch office.

At the end of the year, each club determines how to divide any funds that remain in its activity account with the school.  The three options are: (1) to keep the funds in the activity account for the next year's activities, (2) to donate the funds to the Chapter's youth service program or their local Chapter branch, or (3) to donate the funds to a specific American Red Cross initiative.  The clubs can choose any combination of these options.  Although clubs are allowed to fundraise for non-American Red Cross purposes, once the money is deposited in the club's activity account, it can only be used to support the club or the American Red Cross.  This practice ensures that the clubs do not break IRC Section 501(c)(3) regulations.  

Service Projects

Each club is encouraged to perform at least two service projects during the year (one in the fall and one in the spring).  During these projects, the youth will perform volunteer work on behalf of the American Red Cross or another worthy beneficiary of the club's community.  We divide potential service projects into three broad categories.

Mission-centric projects involve activities that are directly related to American Red Cross priorities; these include blood services, international relief and immunization, health and safety training, disaster readiness and response, military services, non-emergency medical transport, and the establishment of new clubs and youth programs.  These projects do not have to be specifically sponsored by the American Red Cross; example, the American Red Cross of Greater Houston does not provide blood services because of the Gulf Coast Blood and Tissue Center, but the youth could volunteer in a program sponsored by the Gulf Coast Blood and Tissue Center because it supports a key service of the American Red Cross.  Clubs are encouraged to focus their service projects in these areas for maximum congruence with Chapter activities.

Mission-related projects involve activities that related indirectly to American Red Cross priorities.  These include relief for disaster victims in the immediate community, support for veterans and military families, support for the elderly, disabled, or chronically ill, and organ donation or bone marrow matching projects.  Clubs can conduct service projects in mission-related areas without specific approval from the Youth Governing Board or the Chapter staff.

Off-mission projects involved activities that are completely unrelated to American Red Cross priorities.  Clubs are permitted to participate in selected off-mission projects that they consider important to their involvement in the life of the school or community.  However, these projects must be approved in advance by the principal of the school, the sponsor of the club, and the Youth Governing Board or Chapter staff.  Youth are encouraged to participate in mission-centric or mission-related project as opposed to off-mission projects.  

Youth Leadership Development Conference

One of the activities sponsored by the youth services program as a whole is the Youth Leadership Development Conference, which is a four-day conference held at a retreat center each summer.  The goal of the conference is to provide the participant youth with information, ideas, and suggestions to help develop their leadership skills.  This allows students to better serve their clubs and provides them will essential skills for their lives after graduation.  The conference consists of workshops, speakers, and activities to help the youth members achieve their goals.  The 2007 conference had speakers on volunteer services, fundraising and budgeting, communications and public relations, professional speaking and interviewing, and developing clubs.  This conference is open to club officers, members, other students in the Chapter, and youth from areas serviced by other Chapters.