Braden Bochner, staff writer
The American Red Cross Club will be performing in a series of Puppet Shows this month produced by the American Red Cross Executive Board, including one hosted at the Barnes and Noble located in The Grove.
Just this past weekend, one puppet show was held at the Los Angeles Chinatown Firecracker Run. The 10k run and walk event is annually hosted to raise funds and support literacy and physical fitness programs throughout Los Angeles. The puppet show was apart of the non-profit organization’s mission to promote education, cultural awareness and health and fitness.
“My favorite part of the planning process was seeing how many people are interested in dedicating a couple of hours of their time to help educate children about basic safety concepts,” club president Shayna Eshmoili said.
The interactive puppet show serves as an informational session to provide young kids, including babies and toddlers, with safety protocol and tips about earthquakes and other natural disasters. The 30-minute show uses puppets from “The Sesame Street.”
“My favorite part [of the event] was at the end, when all the toddlers were super excited about greeting Elmo and Big Bird,” club member Upasana Mannur said. “It was really cute and it was fun trying to give the kids puppet hugs from behind the curtain.”
According to Eshmoili, the event gives young children to opportunity to “enjoy themselves while learning vital life-saving knowledge.”
While educating children about natural disaster safety, volunteers gain a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
“I originally had no idea that many people lacked information on disaster preparedness,” Mannur said. “It’s been gratifying to see people from different communities appreciate the ARC [American Red Cross Club] volunteers’ efforts.”