When a natural disaster threatens, we’re told to get our emergency relief kit ready. Gather water, medication, food for several days and family mementos, and head for safe ground.

That’s all adult stuff. Less attention is given to what kids can do, and that’s where the Pillowcase Project, a program by Disney and the Red Cross, can provide some help.

The project, aimed at children in grades 3-5, involves having children prepare their own emergency kit in a decorative pillowcase. It’s intended not only to make sure children have what they need in a disaster of some kind, but to give them something useful to do in a time of stress.

"What we share with the children is the importance of preparing for disasters of any kind," said Renise Bayne, a Red Cross volunteer who gives presentations on the project at Hawaii schools. "We usually try to focus on the disaster of the season, so right now it’s hurricanes."

"Mainly what we’re trying to get them to understand is that, with the preparedness part, we’re trying to have them all be responsible for it, including the children, rather than just waiting for the parents to take care of it," she said. "We want them to be proactive about it."

Disney is donating pillowcases, embossed with suggestions like "flashlight," "portable radio," "batteries," "toothbrush" and "toothpaste," to the project. The children are then encouraged to add their own suggestions and decorate the pillowcases to add a personal touch.

"This is just giving them the empowerment and the ownership of making sure that they have what they need, that they’re taking care of themselves, so that the parents can worry about the bigger logistics," Bayne said.

The immediacy and the interactive nature of the program helps kids understand the purpose and need of the program, said another volunteer, Kerri Scott, who has taught the program and taught other Red Cross volunteers how to teach it.

"It’s very interactive. You find out what these kids know, and then you build on it, and if you can get them to answer the questions and say it, then they’ve got it," she said. "And then they go home and tell their family."

Scott brings her own pillowcase to class whenever she teaches it, pulling out the suggested items as the children call them out. For a personal item, she has a stuffed dog, which always elicits "awwws" from the students. The idea is that it’s OK to bring "something for you to hold, something to make you feel safe," she said.

Scott also includes a deck of cards in her pillowcase, which raises eyebrows at first. She has to explain that "your iPad and your games are not going to work, so you bring a deck of cards."

The program has already been helpful on Hawaii island in areas threatened by lava flows. Children from Keonepoko Elementary School in Pahoa were able to use their pillowcases when they had to evacuate the area, said Bayne, who gave the presentation at the school.

"It was a good, positive experience because the kids were able to help themselves rather than just feel helpless," she said. Along with advice on collecting important personal items, the course includes advice on staying calm and avoiding panic during a crisis situation, she said.

The idea for using pillowcases came from Hurricane Katrina, the 2005 storm that stranded thousands on the mainland in the Gulf of Mexico region. Images from that disaster showed people using pillowcases to carry the few belongings they could salvage from the wreckage.

The volunteers also provide guidance on fire safety and clarification on disaster terminology, such as the difference between a hurricane watch and a warning.

The one-hour presentation can be requested by local schools.

SESSION SIGN-UP

To request a Pillowcase Project session, call program coordinator Carole Kaapu at 739-9112 or email Carole.Kaapu@redcross.org