Serving on the Red Cross Youth Services Leadership Committee is FUN as well as a privilege. This is a program that takes you from being a regular volunteer, to learning to be a leader. There are no other programs like this in our community and no other place where you can get REAL experience being a leader like you can here. Please know that we do NOT think Youth Council is more important than education, family or religion and do not expect that you take away from these things to accomplish the activities in your job description. That being said, if you participate in a lot of other extracurricular activities, this opportunity may not be for you. You along with your parents need to evaluate your priorities; what things are you involved in now that will best improve your present and future. That being said, this experience, if you do a good job, can be one of the best things your resume has ever seen which will give you a great advantage over others. The following are the general commitments for every Leadership Committee member. If it seems overwhelming remember that we will be there to help you and we KNOW you can do this. Remember that serving on the Leadership Committee means that you are part of the whole team. You will help others and you will need help from them too in order to accomplish your specific goals. When you are finished with the year, you will be able to look back and be extremely proud of what you have done! Remember this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. So if you ARE able to fulfill the requirements, do not pass up this opportunity. General Requirements Must be a FULL volunteer in Volunteer Connection (all steps completed) Must present yourself at the August Youth Council meeting and make a 3-5 min presentation about why you should be elected.* Must be willing to attend all (unless sick or emergency) Leadership and Youth Council monthly meetings. If you cannot attend, you must notify the Coordinator 24 hours in advance. o In Ogden these meetings are the 3 rd Monday of every month from 4:30-8:00pm. Must be able to attend the Leadership Committee Leadership Meeting in SLC on Saturday August 23 rd from 10am- 3pm. Need to have a mode of transportation that is reliable. (This can be a parent, friend or your own vehicle.) Need to be able to ask for help when necessary and be able to delegate when things get too overwhelming. Need to be willing to communicate well with your co-chair and be clear when working together. Need to be willing to hold yourself and others accountable for what you AND your co-chair have volunteered to do. Need to be willing to meet others and make them feel welcome. Must be able to speak in front of a large group of people. Need to communicate VERY well with others. MUST check your email or Volunteer Connection AT LEAST TWICE A WEEK and ANSWER the messages!! This is one of the most important things. You cannot communicate too much...i promise! Need to be able to have good ideas about how to make Youth Services fun AND be able to have fun yourself! You will be responsible for tracking the number of hours you spend doing your work and reporting them in Volunteer Connection. (A record is kept so if you ever need a referral for jobs or college applications etc.) If you become unable to serve on the Leadership Committee for any reason, you need to speak to the Coordinator and submit a formal letter of resignation to the whole committee. If your work is not up to these standards, you may be asked to step down. *If you have been asked to be in a leadership position you do not need to do a presentation but you need to be at that meeting and present yourself.
Here are the steps for getting on the Leadership Committee: 1. Read this entire application, and then have your parents read the entire thing. 2. Realize how AMAZING this experience will be and decide you want to be a part of it. 3. Along with your parents, REALISTICALLY evaluate the activities you will be participating in during the next school year (sports, drama, band, student body, etc), and decide whether you will have time TO COMMIT to being on the Leadership Committee and fulfill the responsibilities you have. You will need to volunteer approximately 2-4 hours a week during the school year. If you have questions you may call your coordinator at ANY time. 4. If you don t already have a profile on the Red Cross Volunteer Connection, you need to do this and fulfill all the steps. You can find the link for the YOUTH application on www.redcross.org/utah and volunteer connection. 5. Fill out the last page of this application and return it to your coordinator BEFORE August 6 th by mail, email, fax or in person: See below for contact info for the Volunteer Coordinator in your chapter. 6. Prepare a very short (3-5 min) presentation for the Youth Council meeting in August, specifically answering the questions on the last page of this application for the Youth Council members. (See next page for dates). 7. Present yourself at the August Youth Council Meeting. 8. You get voted upon during that meeting and will know immediately. Those who are not elected will still be members of Youth Council and yes, we will still love you very much. This is NOT a popularity contest. Volunteer Coordinator This is the person you need to return this application to: Northern Utah Chapter (Centerville & North) Sarah MacKay 2955 Harrison Boulevard, Ogden UT 801-625-0866 Sarah.mackay@redcross.org
Description of Youth Council Activities Ogden Youth Services Youth Council Meetings Youth Council meets once a month in all three chapters of the Utah Region Red Cross. Attend the meeting closest to you: Ogden: Ogden: 2955 Harrison Blvd (enter from West side), generally the 3rd Monday of every month 6-8pm: Aug: 18th, Sep 15th, Oct 20th, Nov 17th, Dec 15th, Jan 5th, Feb 2nd (January and February are the 1 st Monday of the Month), Mar 16th, Apr 20th, and May 18th. Disaster Services Volunteer Training Youth Council members can get trained as Disaster Volunteers for the American Red Cross. The training will be during UEA weekend (Oct 16 th & 17 th ). This is a two full-day training in SALT LAKE and both days are required in order to be a full disaster volunteer. Youth who attend this training will be placed on Disaster Action Teams: on call groups of volunteers trained to respond to emergencies such as house fires and larger scale disasters. These volunteers provide food, clothing and shelter to those in need. Leadership Development Camp This is our most important and impactful activities of the year. LDC is a week-long camp for those currently in 9 th 10 th and 11 th grade. We accept 80 youth & have 8 volunteer youth staff members. Delegates (participants) learn leadership skills through values clarification, diversity and pushing themselves out of their comfort zone. Without a doubt this camp changes everyone who participates either as a delegate or on staff. Holiday Card Making for Veterans The Red Cross collects cards for service men and women. The youth get their schools and groups to participate by making cards and then we distribute them to different places including the VAMC, Hill AFB and the VA Nursing home in Payson. International Humanitarian Law The American Red Cross was instrumental in founding humanitarian laws during wartime which protect civilians. Youth may also take IHL trainings and help bring awareness of international human rights issues to other youth. Both of these experiences look great on a resume! Raid Cross This is a game where youth participate as soldiers in a fictitious country at war. The youth go through fake scenarios or posts to learn about different rules of war or Geneva conventions. This is an extreme amount of fun and helps youth think about issues such as: torture, treatments of prisoners of war, child soldiers and prosecution for war crimes. This is not a commentary on whether war is right or not, but rather the rights of civilians during wartime. International Measles and Rubella Initiative The American Red Cross along with the Center for Disease Control, UNICEF, the UN, and the World Health Organization collaborate on this initiative to eradicate measles and rubella throughout the world. Measles is an infection caused by virus that can kill children who live in the poorest of conditions and have little access to proper healthcare. Youth Council members raise money by selling Measles Initiatives Pins for $1.50 in their schools. $1.50 = 1 vaccine for a child in a developing country = a child s life saved!! Last year Youth Council raised over $8,100 and saved over 5400 lives. This initiative has SIGNIFICANTLY reduced deaths from measles in Africa and is now focusing its efforts around the world. Reaching Out to Veterans In Salt Lake, Ogden, and Provo, we visit the VA Nursing homes monthly to provide socialization to the residents there and to brighten their day. This is a very fun activity. Preparedness The Red Cross provides education and outreach to lots of people about disaster preparedness. Youth will be trained to present to others about disaster preparedness. This year we will be looking at new and innovative ways youth can do this. It may be through plays, or puppet shows or videos the sky is the limit and we need you to help design the program!! CPR Instructor Did you know that youth could not only become trained in CPR, but could teach it? For Youth Council members over the age of 16 we will be having a special instructor training that will take only two Saturdays. After that, you can teach at the Red Cross and other locations. Babysitting Instructor The American Red Cross trains youth ages 11-16 as professional babysitters. Youth who take these courses are trained how to market their skills in a safe way, handle naughty kids, how to make a house safe as well as how to change diapers and feed babies. Youth Council Members who are over 16 years old can become instructors. This is a very fun class to teach and helps youth keep safe situations at home. You never know when your teaching will have saved a life! Boy Scout Certification Instructor Boy Scouts come to the Red Cross to get certain certifications for Merit Badges. We have a new program for volunteers to teach these classes to them and we would love to have youth doing it! Other Youth Council members also do other projects not listed here that benefit the community or world.
Youth Leadership Positions & Descriptions Ogden Youth Services Chair Title 1 Co-Presidents 2 3 4 Co-Chair Services to Armed Forces Co-Chair LDC Recruitment/ First Response Co-Chair Disaster Preparedness & Response Job Description -Attends & arrives early to all YC & Leadership Committee monthly meetings Shares responsibility with other Co-president for: -Orient all new youth volunteers to the Red Cross before youth council (1/2 hour meeting before) -Coordinating & running all YC meetings (with Coordinator) -Weekly phone meeting with Coordinator at a set convenient time (1 hour) -Monthly call with all Co-Presidents to share best practices -Contacting all Leadership Committee members to check on their events & assist where necessary -Is a positive influence on others & promotes the Red Cross Fundamental Principles -There will be more responsibility for teaching each month or designating someone to do it. -Assuring all YC members are heard and making meetings fun to attend -Participating in some projects -Keeps attendance at all meetings -Oversees and attends monthly VA/Fisher House visits -Oversees SAF Holiday card events and other activities related to armed forces *Must be a returned LDC delegate & Must be 16 years or older -Oversees delegate & staff recruitment for LDC 2015 starting now, including doing presentations to youth and other groups -Becomes an instructor of either Babysitting (1.5 day training) or CPR (2 full Saturdays) -Learning and teaching Hands-Only CPR -Leads a group of similarly trained youth instructors to teach and fulfill their agreement -Oversee teaching Boy Scout program -Assures all your group fulfills their commitment to teach -Becomes trained as a Disaster Services Youth Volunteer during UEA Weekend (2 days of classes October 16 th & 17th) -Attends monthly Disaster Team meetings (2 nd Tuesday from 6:00-7:30pm) and encourages all youth disaster volunteers to do same. -Helping YC members become trained as a Disaster Services Youth Volunteers. -Helping at Red Cross shelters in case of a large scale disaster (after school). -With your team, plan a project related to Disaster Response sometime during the school year -Creating new ways for youth to become involved in Disaster Education in the Community -Overseeing the training for YC members to be able to carry out plan -Teaching at least 3 Community Education sessions/events
Please return this page to your Coordinator BEFORE August 6 th - Digital copies are preferred. First Name : Last Name: Grade: Which position do you want to apply for? Please list all that you would be willing to co-chair in the case that you are not elected to your first choice. (Rate them from first choice to last choice.) 1. 2. 3. Why are you the best candidate for the Leadership Committee & the specific position for which you are applying? What leadership experience do you have? Are you able to speak up in a group? Explain. Are you a self motivated person? Explain. What OTHER extracurricular activities will you be OR INTEND to be involved in during the next school year that will take your time away from your duties on Youth Council? How much time a week will these take? Please explain how committed you are to this position over other activities you have. How do you plan to get to the chapter office for the meetings? How reliable is this transportation? What do think is the responsible way to handle a situation where you no longer are able to fulfill a commitment you have made to others? If you are NOT elected to the Leadership Committee, do you plan to be an active member of Youth Services? Please explain how you will handle the situation. I have read and understand my prospective responsibilities on the Leadership Committee. If elected I will do MY BEST to accomplish these things. I have read this application and understand that my child is applying to be on the Leadership Committee for Youth Services for the American Red Cross. I will support him/her to the best of my abilities in getting to meetings and being responsible. I understand he/she will be supported by Red Cross staff in doing these activities. Signature (Can be typed): Parent/Guardian Signature (Can be typed): Date Date