Canadian Red Cross, Royal & SunAlliance and Government of Canada Partner to Prepare Children for Disasters
(Ottawa, May 7, 2002) -With disasters on the rise in Canada in recent years, Canadian Red Cross is teaching Canadian children how to be safe, how to personally prepare for a disaster and to expect the unexpected.
Expect the Unexpected is a national program designed to give students, parents and teachers the knowledge, attitudes and skills to respond efficiently during an emergency. It helps students learn about: the natural and human elements that make up the environment; preparing for natural disasters and unexpected situations such as power failures, storms, fires and tornados that could strike their area; basic safety rules; school and home evacuation plans; attitudes and behaviour to adopt in emergency situations; and, the needs and emotions people may experience during emergency situations. The program was developed after the 1996 Saguenay floods, when Red Cross found that many children in the region needed help coping with the aftermath of the floods.
To date the Expect the Unexpected program has reached 36,000 students and more than 900 teachers across the country. It has been delivered in communities devastated by disasters in recent years - including Pine Lake, Alberta and the Saguenay region of Quebec.
Information for teachers, children and parents can be downloaded from the Expect the Unexpected Program.
"We know that our Expect the Unexpected program will help Canadian youth prepare for disasters and lessen the impact of future disasters," says Pierre Duplessis, Canadian Red Cross Secretary General and CEO. "We would like to thank Royal & SunAlliance and the Government of Canada for their generous sponsorship of this program."
The Expect the Unexpected program is funded by Royal & SunAlliance Insurance Company of Canada. "Royal & SunAlliance, through our Corporate Citizenship program, has a strong commitment to supporting organizations relating to injury prevention," says Larry Simmons, President and CEO of Royal & SunAlliance Canada. "We are proud to sponsor the Expect the Unexpected program, educating children about emergency preparedness. We believe that our sponsorship of this program will make a difference to the lives of people across the country."
Royal & SunAlliance Canada is a part of the Royal & SunAlliance Insurance Group plc. Dating back to 1710, the group has over 50,000 employees and provides a comprehensive range of property, casualty and life insurance and financial services in more than 130 countries.
The program is also funded by the Government of Canada's Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Emergency Preparedness (OCIPEP). "We are proud that the Office of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Emergency Preparedness could support the Red Cross in building awareness of emergency preparedness among youth in Canada," declared Margaret Purdy, Associate Deputy Minister of National Defence and responsible for OCIPEP. "This pilot project will help to foster a culture of preparedness across Canada."
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For more information, please call:
Suzanne Charest
Communications Officer
Canadian Red Cross
Tel.: (613) 740-1928
Pager: (613) 594-7405
Chris White
Communications Leader
Royal & SunAlliance
Tel. : (416) 366-7511, ext. 2372
