TULALIP — “So if it looks like someone needs CPR, first we ask ourselves, is it safe?” Jessie Chen, a volunteer for the American Red Cross of Snohomish County, told the kids at the Tulalip Boys & Girls Club on Nov. 13. “Then we ask them, ‘Are you okay?’ Then, if they don’t respond, we tell someone, ‘You, call 911!'”

The Health & Safety Fair at the Boys & Girls Club not only taught preschoolers through teenagers how to do chest compressions, but also guided them through stocking their own pillowcases full of personal emergency supplies. The pillowcase project was created by the Red Cross in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

“It’s never too early to educate kids about emergency preparation,” said Rochelle Lubbers, recovery manager for the Tulalip Tribes. “Kids can actually be the best teachers for adults, because parents are less likely to ignore what their children are saying than what another adult is saying. Kids are persuasive and eager to learn.”

Samuel Askew, general manager of the Tulalip Resort Casino, explained that the Tulalip Tribes saw a unique opportunity to partner the resources of their local Boys & Girls Club and the Snohomish County Red Cross, to help make young people safer.

“A lot of kids these days live with older relatives, like aunts, uncles and grandparents,” Askew said. “During the Red Cross ‘Real Heroes’ breakfasts that are hosted at the casino each year, several of the honorees have been recognized for their life-saving skills. If you can give something that special to a kid, that can’t be beat.”

Tulalip used this event to bring in its police and fire personnel, so that young attendees could sit inside a fire truck and pet a police dog. After the Tulalip Health Clinic had conducted family screenings, and the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management provided disaster preparedness tips of its own, all the kids were treated to pizza dinners and a “Safety Dance,” to the tune of the Men at Work song of the same name.

Washington native and former professional baseball player Mitchell Canham was on hand to show his support for the Boys & Girls Club’s efforts.

“I hope these kids will see, through the numbers of police officers and firefighters here, that we’re all each other’s servants,” Canham said. “Kids learn quick, so the least we can do is teach them things to ensure their safety. They already get the security of being surrounded by the great people at the Boys & Girls Club. Those folks are the ones who raised me to become the man that I am today.”