What Can I Do?

Many responders ask me just what can I do as a member of RNR; do I sit and wait for the next disaster? The answer is NO. There are several things you can do. Right now, RNR has shifted everyday thinking to educating the public on being prepared. Sharing with the public the steps needed to build a preparedness kit is a great service to everyone. Red Nose Response's "Don't Clown around with Disaster Preparedness"(DCAWDP) is a wonderful presentation to give to your local schools, churches, civic groups, the list goes on and on. RNR is in the process of producing a video that will soon be available. Until the video is available, I will be happy to e-mail you the entire script so you can present it to your community. My e-mail is bunkytclown@comcast.net.

If a disaster does hit your area, find out where distribution centers are being set up. Most can be found in parking lots. This is where they will be handing out bottled water, dry ice, and clean up kits. It's also a place where paperwork can be filled out for assistance from local agencies (Red Cross, FEMA, etc.). A distribution center is a wonderful place to give soft assistance, too.

What is Soft Assistance? It is simple acts of kindness, listening and caring. Those affected (young, old, and in between) can be very confused and worried and need others to just talk to. Volunteer workers also need comic relief. Sometimes, the only thing people need is a warm smile.

Whatever you bring in soft assistance (balloons, napkin roses, stickers, coloring pages and crayons, etc), please be sure to have enough. We also recommend if you come in clown make it a light look. In the world today, we all have to deal with the fear of clowns. Sometimes anxiety has a way of overreacting to something more than normal, so we don't want to add to that by being overly clowney.