Whether it's crawling out under a fire or taking shelter during a tornado, kids are learning how to be prepared when disaster strikes.
Danielle Carder, Red Cross disaster specialist:"We're here today in order to talk about emergency preparedness. And we're doing the Pillowcase Project which is a program funded by the Walt Disney company where we're talking about emergency preparedness with kids ideally in third to fifth grade range, but we kind of had a big mixture here," said Red Cross Disaster Specialist Danielle Carder.
The Pillowcase Project was created after hurricane Katrina, when university students who evacuated put their belongings in their pillowcases. The pillowcases here are used as personalized preparedness kits.
"Well I'm gonna put in snacks, and water, and a some things to do," said fifth grader Grayson Matthews, who is learning how to respond when there's a tornado."You go in the basement away from windows." Or fire."You wanna get out as quick as you can. And check the fire detectors every once a like once a month."
The kids received their own pillowcase after taking a quiz over the lessons taught.
"And it really follows learn, practice, share. Where they're learning something, they get to practice it, and then we try to encourage them to share it," added Carder.
Now that he is prepared, Matthews says he will share what he learned with his family and friends.
"I'm gonna tell them about tornado safety and fire safety and what to do if there is a tornado or a fire."
The Red Cross offers free preparedness classes on specific hazards. For more information and resources go to the red cross website.