Students learn to save lives
By Sydney Kornegay
Cub@TheColumbiaStar.com

You don't have to have your MD to save a life. The youth who participated in the Red Cross Youth Training Institute on April 21 learned skills such as CPR and first aid that may save lives in the future.

The Youth Training Institute (YTI) was organized by the American Red Cross of Central S.C. Chapter and S.C. Blood Services Region, and funded by a $1,000 grant from the State Farm Good Neighbor Service Learning Program. They also received a $1,000 grant from the American Red Cross National Headquarters Youth and Young Adult Programs and Services. The event was open to ages 11- 24.

Students who attended the event could choose between a variety of classes. The most popular was the Red Cross babysitting certification course, which taught future babysitters how to handle crisis situations. This course drew mostly middle school aged students.

Another popular choice was the CPR certification course. "The format of the course was really well done," said Apoorva Srivastava, who is head of the Red Cross Club at her school. "They showed us a video on the steps, gave us visuals, and then allowed us to practice on dummies. It helped me to remember all the steps really vividly."

This is the second conference that the Red Cross has held. The first was held last fall and only attracted a handful of students. However, the most recent conference attracted close to 100 students, and each received a lunch donated by Krispy Kreme, Papa Johns, Jimmy John's, and Kroger.

The Institute is just one of several initiatives taken on by the Red Cross of Central South Carolina South Carolina Blood Services Region. The chapter also seeks to get community youth involved in fundraising projects, community service, blood drives, and the Measles Initiative, a program that raises money for measles vaccination in Africa.