POTSDAM --The American Red Cross of Northern New York expressed gratitude toward Girl Scout Troops in St. Lawrence County for their community service project of making “comfort kits” for disaster victims.

The scouts who participated in the comfort kit project presented the kits to volunteer Megan Fulton at the 100 Year Girl Scout Anniversary In-Gathering in Potsdam recently. Fifty-five youth comfort kits were collected and will be provided to local youth who’ve experienced a disaster in St. Lawrence County.

In February, 60 local Girl Scouts ages 5 to 18 attended a First Aid/Safety Day in collaboration with The American Red Cross of Northern New York and the Pierrepont Fire Department. They toured the fire department, tried on firefighter gear, and learned how to use a fire extinguisher. Volunteers from the Red Cross hosted workshops for the girls to learn how to prepare themselves and families for emergencies and disasters, as well as what is in a first aid kit and how to use one.

At the end of the day, the Red Cross gave a presentation on how the organization responds to disaster locally, with house fires being the most frequent disaster. The Red Cross informed the scouts of the services provided following a disaster, and asked the scouts to adopt a service project to create comfort kits to be given to youth who have experienced a disaster. After a disaster, people are left with their world turned upside down. The Red Cross provides comfort kits that are distributed, free of charge, to people displaced by disaster. Often these individuals are left with nothing but the clothes they were wearing at the time the disaster struck.

Comfort kits include basic hygiene items to provide victims a sense of getting back on their feet after the disaster strikes.