Lydia Francis, a third-grader at Lake Placid Elementary School, decorates a pillowcase as part of the American Red Cross’s Pillowcase Project on Tuesday, Nov. 15. Red Cross volunteer Madeline Clark taught Lake Placid Elementary School third-graders about how they can be prepared for emergencies by packing pillowcases with essential items. (News photo — Lauren Yates)

LAKE PLACID — “Be a prepared-y cat — don’t be a scaredy cat!”

That’s what American Red Cross volunteer Madeline Clark told third graders at the Lake Placid Elementary School on Tuesday, Nov. 15 after the students had finished decorating pillowcases with their names and colorful designs in marker. But the pillowcases weren’t for pillows — they were for the students to take home and fill with items they might need in an emergency.

Red Cross volunteers Clark and Minda Briaddy carried a plastic storage tote filled with white pillowcases through the school’s hallways on Tuesday afternoon. They were on their way to teach third-graders about emergency preparedness on behalf of the Red Cross Pillowcase Project, a program that teaches elementary-level students how to stay happy, healthy and safe in an emergency by having a pillowcase filled with essentials they might need. The program is free for local schools, and Lake Placid Elementary School was Clark and Briaddy’s second stop in the Tri-Lakes — they helped students at Petrova Elementary School build pillowcase kits in October, and Clark said they’re hoping to take the program to more schools in the area.

The Pillowcase Project was inspired by a real emergency: Hurricane Katrina, which slammed into Gulf Coast states such as Louisiana in August 2005. Clark said students at a Louisiana university were evacuating the dorm when a student called out to a friend: Grab a pillowcase and fill it with everything you need! Some people put term papers in their pillowcases, Clark said, but others packed necessities like medicine, socks and shoes — extras items they’d need to get through the next few days comfortably. The concept caught on with the Red Cross, which now uses pillowcases for emergency preparedness outreach.

Clark knows how important it is to be prepared for emergencies from her own personal experience. She was deployed to Florida by the Red Cross just a couple of days after Hurricane Ian struck the state to help set up shelters for people who fled their homes. She was in the first wave of volunteers to serve the area, and she said conditions were still “raw” when she arrived. When she left two weeks later, the power had just come back on. A boil water order was still in effect.

American Red Cross volunteer Madeline Clark teaches Lake Placid Elementary School third-graders about the types of natural disasters that can hit the North Country during a presentation about emergency preparedness on Tuesday, Nov. 15. (News photo — Lauren Yates)

Clark told Lake Placid third-graders that when people arrived at her shelter in Florida, they didn’t bring a lot — they’d just left their homes. It would have been nice for them to have a pillow or blanket, she said, or even a Squishmallow stuffed animal. But in the North Country, she said, emergencies can also come in the form of house fires, snowstorms and floods — like the one that swept over AuSable Forks earlier this year, leaving some people displaced from their homes.

At LPES, Clark asked students about what being prepared means, the types of emergencies that can happen in the North Country, and what they should put in their pillowcases to keep them happy and healthy in the event of an emergency. Lake Placid second-graders were filled with practical ideas — food (non-perishable food, Clark added), a flashlight, a first-aid kit, and a pillow and blanket were all considered good pillowcase items by the kids. One student added a toy to the mix, and Clark said that while it’s not a good idea to fill an emergency pillowcase with toys, it’s OK to have one — it’s important to stay occupied in the uncertain aftermath of an emergency, she said.

Clark said her favorite thing about doing the Pillowcase Project is hearing the students’ responses to her questions, which can range from silly to serious.

She said a student once told her he wanted to pack his Hulk smash hands in his pillowcase.

“They get really silly with it, and it’s kind of nice because it makes the topic of emergency preparedness a little bit less scary,” Clark said. “I think that’s where we can kind of connect with kids.”

Lake Placid Elementary School third-graders Luke Conway, Jaxson St. Louis and Jack Blinn decorate a pillowcase as part of the American Red Cross Pillowcase Project on Nov. 15. (News photo — Lauren Yates)

Lake Placid Elementary School third-graders Eloise Ruttan and Pearl Wenzler decorate a pillowcase as part of the American Red Cross Pillowcase Project on Nov. 15. (News photo — Lauren Yates)