Pillowcase Project putting resilience first at Beechmont State School

Natural disasters like the recent bushfires impact all members of the community including children.

To help children build their resilience in the face of natural disasters, Australian Red Cross is assisting primary school students to cope with, and prepare for, emergencies and natural disasters through the Pillowcase Project.

Following the Southern Queensland Bushfires, Red Cross hosted a Pillowcase Project session at Beechmont State School to help some of its youngest students deal with the stress of evacuation and think about what items they would need to take with them.

As part of the project, Australian Red Cross delivers one hour disaster resilience sessions for students where they will learn coping techniques and identify which personal items they might need to take with them if they were evacuated from their home.

Students are then given their own pillowcase to decorate and fill with these emergency items at home.

Red Cross has received funding under the Queensland Government’s Queensland Disaster Resilience Fund to support the delivery of the Pillowcase Project across the state.

QDRF is administered by QRA which is aiming to make Queensland the most disaster resilient state in Australia.