Home › Self Organizing - Emergency Blackout Boxes ›

Self Organizing - Emergency Blackout Boxes

Self Organizing - Emergency Blackout Boxes

Overview
Your family can assemble emergency blackout boxes for the elderly or low-income families with practical and helpful items. Help them be prepared when the lights go out.

Goals

  • To help seniors and low income families prepare for loss of electric power
  • To learn about community needs and connecting with agencies that serve families and seniors
  • To develop compassion for the people you are serving

Supporting Organizations

  • Local Department of Children and Families, or Human Services Department
  • Local senior center
  • Assisted living facilities
  • Visiting nurse association

Materials

  • A shoebox or a plastic box with cover
  • Index cards for telephone numbers
  • Flashlight and batteries
  • Packaged snacks such as granola bars and fruit cups, and bottled water
  • Labels and markers

Instructions

  • Connect with a local agency that serves the elderly or low-income families.  Ask if they utilize your donation of emergency blackout boxes. You should plan to make 10-15 blackout boxes per volunteer.
  • Decide if your family will invite other families to make several emergency blackout boxes.
  • If you invite other families to join you, schedule a day and time for your families to assemble the boxes.  Consider asking someone from the recipient organization to talk to the group about the needs of seniors and/or low-income families in your community.
  • Make a family visit to your local social services or visiting nurses association.
  • Decide if you will ask local merchants to donate to your project.
  • Label the box, “Emergency Blackout Box” and decorate the shoebox or plastic box with label and markers.
  • Create a form for phone numbers – an index card would work well.  Include the following list of numbers:
    • 911 and other local emergency numbers
    • Name and number of closest neighbor
    • Emergency family member contact
    • Electric and/or gas company
    • Other important phone numbers
    • Enclose the flashlight, batteries, snacks and water bottles
  • Deliver your boxes to the agency.

Additional Resources
Seniors Fact Sheet for Kids at  www.HandsOnNetwork.org/FamilyVolunteering/ServiceLearning

Resources
After your volunteer project, it is important for families to reflect on their experiences.  Choose one of the Reflection Activities from the list below.

Magic Wand – This activity uses the concept of a magic wand to help children talk about and reflect on their volunteer experience.  Have your family sit in a circle.  Tell everyone that you have just found a magic wand that allows you to grant wishes, and pose the questions, “If you could grant a wish to one person, who would the person be, and what do you think he or she would wish for?”  “How do you think what we did today will make someone feel, and how do you think that is similar to granting a wish?”

Family Pictionary – Have each member of the family take turns drawing something about their volunteer experience and how they felt about it.  While each person is drawing, have everyone else try to guess what the picture represents.  After each picture is drawn, the artist should talk about the picture and why they chose to draw it.