Trending
PORT ROYAL -- Heather Heckert's crusade to make certain area children are prepared for emergencies started from personal experience.
"It started with the fact that I had an older family member with heart problems, and I was trying to teach my daughter to call 911 and what to say if she was alone with her grandmother," said Heckert, the event coordinator for Helping Hands of Juniata County.
Heckert was telling family and friends about her emergency preparedness plan and many children in the community would reap the benefits of such a program.
The inaugural Emergency Preparedness Class for Kids will be offered from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 4, at the Port Royal Community Building, 212 N. Fourth St., Port Royal.
"A lot of the focus is on emergency prevention," Heckert said. "Emergencies happen! No matter how hard we try to prevent them.
"We need to get kids prepared with what to say," she added. "I taught my daughter what to say to 911 if her grandmother had a heart problem."
The free program will focus on a variety of topics, discussed by various organizations and agencies including:
Talk with a 911 dispatcher and learn what questions they ask, and how they help child calls - Juniata County 911 Center
Learn basic CPR and first aid skills - Geisinger Lewistown Hospital
Explore common tools used on the ambulance and watch fire safety demonstrations - Port Royal EMS and Friendship Fire Co. No. 1
Learn to recognize and handle dangerous situations and people - A Warrior Woman Self-Defense
Other organizations will have informational tables as well as appearances by the Pennsylvania State Police, Heckert said.
Helping Hands will provide lunch.
Additionally, there will be free backpacks and Geisinger Lewistown Hospital will give away first aid kits. "They'll be stuff for kids to take home at the end of the day,"
Heckert said.
Pre-registration is preferred. Text or call Heckert at (717) 953-6212.