Meeting Summary:
Safety Award I - See Curriculum Folder
1. Find out what the most common injuries are for kids your age
2. Conduct an emergency evacuation drill of your home or the place your Girl Scout group meets
3. Find out how to read weather signs so you know when to head indoors and get to safety
Family Follow-Up:
To see the handouts, Click Here
Family safety homework! - Bring examples to Safety II
Discuss common childhood injuries (p. 3-5) and walk through your house to check for hazards (p. 10-11)
Complete an emergency Family Communication Plan (p. 12-15)
Discuss and put together an Emergency Kit or Go Bag (p. 16-17)
Make sure you’re signed up for Emergency Alerts!
Practice an at-home fire drill and go out to your meeting place
RSVP for upcoming meetings:
Sunday 11/19 - Safety Award II
Please note this outdoor activity was moved up to 2:30 pm to be able to get in a bike-safety and hazard-spotting ride before sunset.
Sunday 12/3 - Jeweler I
Sunday 12/17 - Jeweler II
Meeting Activities:
We kicked off the meeting with this “Lessons Save Lives” inspirational story of a young girl who recognized the signs of a tsunami and took action, saving her family and about 100 guests at a vacation hotel in Thailand in 2004.
With girls primed to learn and take action about emergencies, we went through the Ready.gov Kids Resource Library, introducing them to the Disaster Dodgers series of videos that cover:
Girls loved practicing “Drop, Cover, Hold” for earthquakes!
Building a Communication Plan and Emergency Kit
I told the girls my story of being caught out in the Northeast Blackout of 2003 and showed them my Go Bag, which I assembled after experiencing three days without electricity.
I told them how I walked down 35 flights of stairs at my midtown Manhattan office in sneakers I had stashed under my desk for the gym, luckily. I then headed downtown 4 miles through traffic-jammed streets and sweltering heat to my 11th-floor apartment only to find that the pipes had lost water pressure. Not only was everything in my refrigerator going to spoil but I couldn’t get any water to drink or flush the toilet. A colleague had given me $20 in cash, which came in handy as none of the ATMs were working. I couldn’t reach anyone as the cell phone lines were totally jammed. For two more days, I tried to stay cool and calm until my neighborhood came back online.
It wasn’t scary, more of a party atmosphere, surprisingly — but one of the most surreal experiences of my life. And one that made me realize the importance of disaster planning. I now always have food and water stored in my garage and during storms fill a bathtub with water. I have cash and paper copies of important documents as well as a crank radio, flashlight, a first aid kit, and other items ready to go. I also have a car emergency kit as I drive an EV in the mountains in the winter.
When showing the girls my Go Bag, I realized that I hadn’t updated it since I moved to Denver in 2018. Need to make it an annual process!
Colorado Natural Disasters
We talked about the types of man-made or natural disasters the girls would most likely face in Colorado. According to the Colorado Resiliency Office, these have historically included flooding, wildfire, drought, and extreme weather events such as hail storms, avalanches, and extreme heat.
We discussed how important it is to heed emergency alerts and reviewed the terminology:
Watch - Be Aware! An extreme weather event is possible.
Advisory - Take Action! An extreme weather event will happen; follow instructions.
Warning - Take Action Immediate Danger! An extreme weather event will happen now (or has happened). Cover or evacuation is recommended; follow instructions.
These events should be taken seriously even for us city-dwellers as residents just north of Denver experienced the Marshall fire of 2021 and just south of Denver experienced the Highlands Ranch tornado of 2023.
Childhood Injuries
From a few different sources, I compiled a list of common childhood injuries, which we discussed. As your family completes the hazard checklist, think of other ways to make your home safe from falls, furniture tipping, motor vehicle accidents, burns, accidental poisoning, and drowning. We will be going through bike safety extensively at Safety Award II. Have girls bring their bikes to the meeting!
Thank you!
DreamLab staff for prepping our meeting room and providing pencils and crayons.
Drew for bringing snacks.
Meredith for planning the curriculum and handouts.
Written by: Meredith