Youth Corps.

[firecoins]

I have taken on the challenge of assisting and growing a youth corp. I will be a co advisor of sorts. Any ideas for growing a Youth Corps? I joined my original corp as a youth corp memeber. I became aware of it through word of mouth. At 29 I think I am a little too old to hand around a high school recruiting kids.

 

[BossyCow]

I would recommend an introductory visit to the school, bring a vehicle and let them touch stuff. I would be pretty informal depending on the size of the crowd. Break it down to around a dozen kids or fewer at a time if at all possible. More than that and the crowd mentality kicks in and you won't be able to keep their attention.

I do a really abbreviated first aid CPR class for one local high school's health class. Or, if the school has a healthcare or medical careers class, talk to the teacher of that group. Another good crowd to reach is when they do the orientation for incoming freshmen in the fall. Some schools do this in the spring before, others in the fall.

I love working with teens. I raised two boys and the youngest is 18. They can be a great group as long as you don't let them get control of the situation. I've worked with kids from middle school up quite a bit and they can be a real challenge at times with all the drama, but when they get on board with something, there is no beating their enthusiasm.

 

[MMiz]

How young are they?

We've taught 30 11-14 year olds CPR/First Aid/AED and certified them. They got to play around with the ambulance, backboard, and even tube a few mannequins.

 

[firecoins]

well we would probably be going for 15 to 17 year olds. 18 and over go into senior corp. NYS allows for 16 year olds to take the Certified First Responder class, a class that is half of the EMT class.

 

[Canoeman]

Juniors

My service has a very successful program for teena (13-18) Just as other posta suggest - we started at the school - career day - Our "juniors" first attend CPR and First aid class, go through orientation and then get a uniform. They do ride with the crews on calls - have several fundrisers (pancake breakfasts mostly) and they "earn" special trips, events to go together as a group, and have a yearly camping trip to the Adirondacks. Most parents are involved but not all - an we do bring in "toubled" kids and start a career path. I think it is rewarding to help them. My daughter was one originally and now she is in paramedic school and is looking at a creer as a PA also.

Canoeman