American Red Cross - Southwestern PA Chapter

The local American Red Cross and the Boy Scouts of America have partnered to advance their complimentary missions involving emergency preparedness. The Southwestern PA Chapter has added a pages to their website.  This site is to benefit scout leaders, merit badge counselors, the Boy Scouts, and any other interested individuals by highlighting available Red Cross training and educational resources that are directly applicable to specific scout initiatives.

Visit the American Red Cross  for more information.

IMPLEMENTATION

Both partners have resources that can be utilized, and needs that can be fulfilled, by working together. The Red Cross has educational training resources in the form of reference material, courses, and instructors that can help the Boy Scouts fulfill the requirements of a number of their initiatives which include emergency preparedness, first aid, and aquatic safety. The Red Cross can also provide community service opportunities welcomed by the Scouts to support initiatives such as Good Turn for America and the Eagle Scout Award. The Boy Scouts can help the Red Cross reach even more citizens with Red Cross Community Disaster Education and Health & Safety programs.

Red Cross Training Available:

• Lifeguarding
• First Aid, CPR and AED training
•  Emergency Preparedness training (Together We Prepare: Make a Plan, Build a Kit, Get Trained, Volunteer)
• Five Basic Disaster Courses (Intro to Disasters, Mass Care, Family Services, Shelter Operations, Disaster Assessment)
• CPR/AED for the Professional Rescuer
•  Wilderness First Aid
• Babysitter Training
• Instructor Training for Health & Safety Courses and Emergency Preparedness Programs

Opportunities for Boy Scouts and Boy Scout Leaders:

• Become authorized providers of Red Cross Health and Safety courses and provide this certified training to BSA units and their leaders.
• Become trained presenters of Red Cross Community Disaster Education Programs and provide this vital information to BSA units and other community groups (e.g. schools, churches, Neighborhood Watch groups, etc.)
• Gain credit for BSA merit badges and awards by participating in Red Cross Community Service projects such as the preparation of disaster kits for a local school or nursing home; host a presentation on disaster awareness for a local scout unit, school or community group; participate in post-disaster clean up or the distribution of relief items; distribute fire prevention and recovery information to neighborhoods affected by fire.

Background

The American Red Cross and the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) have been collaborators in serving the community, and each other, since the earliest days of both organizations. Then, as now, Boy Scouts could be found volunteering with the Red Cross during disaster relief operations nationwide. From their start in 1910, Boy Scouts have depended on the Red Cross to provide the basis for their first aid training. Shortly thereafter, the collaboration extended to develop swimming skills in the "Every Scout a Swimmer" program. Today the BSA recommends Red Cross first aid, aquatic safety, and other training for leaders and scouts under various circumstances, including when leading youth on outings, and for certain merit badges and other awards.

To ensure convenient and cost effective access to Red Cross health and safety training programs, BSA councils and districts need their own instructors and instructor-trainers within an authorized provider relationship. To facilitate this for the entire Scouting organization, such a relationship was formalized at a national level by the 2003 signing of the National Account Authorized Provider Agreement (also referred to as the National Account Network (NAN) agreement).

The relationship took another step forward in June 2004 with the signing of a Memorandum of Mutual Support between the two organizations in which they agree to work together in the BSA's new Good Turn for America initiative, providing BSA youth members with opportunities for Good Turns to make a difference in their communities.