When we think of Halloween, costumes and candy usually pop into mind. However, with all the fun, it’s easy to forget about safety.

Keep your trick-or-treating ghosts, superheroes, princesses and pirates safe with these top tips (read our costume and home safety tips for more info!!):

1. Make sure that a parent or responsible adult will accompany children under an appropriate age (i.e. 12 years or older).
2. Plan and discuss the route trick-or-treaters intend to follow.
3. Get to know and learn the names of your children’s friends.
4. Teach children their phone number and address. Remind them about 9-1-1.
5. Review ‘Stop, Drop and Roll’, should their costume catch on fire.
6. Remind them to stay on the sidewalks and walk, don’t run.
7. Remind them to watch for cars, obey traffic signals and look left, right, then left again before crossing the street.
8. Tell children to stay away from animals, houses and people they don’t know. Remind them not to enter a stranger’s home or car for a treat.
9. Tell children to stay in a group.
10. Ask them not to eat any candy until an adult has checked it out. You should throw out any candy that is homemade, unwrapped, or that looks to have been tampered with. When in doubt, throw it out.
11. Agree on a set time that children need to return home.
12. Give each child:
• A white, sturdy bag with reflective tape on it.
• A flashlight with charged batteries.
• A watch they can read.
• Map of planned route they will take.
• A cell phone or quarters/phone card in it (in case they need to call you).
13. Remind them to say ‘Thank You!’ and have fun!

Jenna, our hospital guest blogger, writes: As a child life specialist in the ER, I never quite know what’s going to happen on any given day…especially a holiday. When I worked in the ER last year on Halloween night, I saw several Halloween-related injuries. Among them:

• A boy in a Star Wars costume who had accidentally poked himself in the eye with a plastic light saber
• Another boy with a gash on his knee from tripping on his Superman cape
• A girl who needed stitches on her forehead after tripping and falling on the skirt of her Cinderella dress
• A boy who needed stitches on his chin from crashing into a wall while wearing a Spider-Man mask.

From these injuries that I observed last year, there seemed to be three common “Halloween hazards” for kids in costume:

1) Tripping and falling over some piece of a costume.

• Be careful if your child wears a costume that is overly baggy or contains a cape, cloak, or other long piece of fabric. That costume can be an accident waiting to happen.

2) Masks or other head coverings that obstruct vision.

• It gets dark early at this time of year, so wearing a mask in the dark can lead to a painful collision with an unseen object. Encourage kids to use face paint, glitter, or stickers rather than covering their face with masks.

3) Weapons such as swords, spears, or light sabers can be particularly hazardous if children aren’t looking where they’re swinging these items.

• If your child insists on carrying a prop with their costume, encourage them to carry one that is rubber, plastic, or non-pointy, so that it won’t hurt if they poke someone with it by mistake.

Last but not least, in case of emergency, be sure to write your child’s name, your phone number and address in the inside of their costume, or make a hip ID bracelet to match their costume.

Want more? Read our additional costume and Halloween home owner’s safety tips…

Have a happy and safe Halloween!

Read more tips from Jenna in our Hospital category. Have a question or tip for Jenna? Email her!! 

Here’s the second part of this article from our college blogger, Lauren! Missed the first part? Click here.

Here are Lauren’s top tips on navigating and getting comfortable living in a new, big city while away at college:

Public Transportation: Most colleges and universities offer students unlimited passes for public transportation (often called a U-Pass) for a small fee (which might be included in your university tuition and fees). For Loyola University Chicago students, for example, these passes allow them to ride the El ( Chicago’s elevated subway system) and the city buses. You might find out about these types of passes during your school orientation sessions or ask your student life department about transportation pass options.

Events Near Campus: You can find things to do off-campus if you look around at the bulletin boards and kiosks: there are many posters up around campus and in the community, promoting events. In your dorm, Resident Assistants (RAs) might also put up large posters telling the dorm what they should go explore that month.

Service Opportunities: Many schools have their own club whose sole purpose is service for the community. These opportunities include everything from tutoring to working in a soup kitchen. Usually these groups meet once a week for a few hours at a time but if you do join a club like this, commitment is really important because the service sites grow to depend on their volunteers. It’s a great way to get to know people and the city around you!

So with all these new experiences and things to do, how do you get comfortable and adjust to a new city?

• EXPLORE. Bring along some of your newly made friends to find what is around campus to keep you sane after hours of studying.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you are lost, do not hesitate to ask a local where you are going.

Thanks Lauren!! Have a topic to suggest or a tip for Lauren? Email her!! You can read more college advice in our college category.

Here’s our first entry from our guest blogger, Lauren W., who will be writing about interesting experiences at college. Have a question or tip about college living? Email her!!

As seniors in high school, students are often asked why they are attending the college of their choice. I remember many of my classmates saying they chose their future college because of the desirable city surroundings. From San Francisco to Boston, my classmates went off to not only receive a higher education academically, but to receive a higher education on the world around them.

Many colleges are embracing their location, and immersing their students into it. I am a freshman at Loyola University Chicago, and have been able to explore the exciting city around me thanks to the school’s efforts. During the first week, there were many different events and service opportunities sponsored by the school. The events were free and the service opportunities were a great way to help the community in which we now live.

Another Chicago school, DePaul University, requires their freshmen to take a course first semester that challenges their students to discover the city. There are many different courses to take, the gangsters of Chicago, the bakeries of Chicago, the Mexican neighborhoods of Chicago, to name a few.

I have heard nothing but good things from these students at DePaul who are thrown into a discovery curriculum. The free events and service opportunities at Loyola really helped settle in and get comfortable with the new location. For those seniors looking at schools in larger cities, do not be afraid of them. Most schools will make an effort to help ease that transition, and help you love your new home!

Check back tomorrow for the rest of this article - Lauren will share her top tips on how to navigate and get comfortable living in a new, big city!

In our interview with wildfire survivor, Bob Worsley, the founder of SkyMall and current CEO of NZ Legacy, a sustainable development company in Arizona, he stressed how important landscaping was to saving his home.

Here’s what kept the Worsleys’ home safe:

• No nearby trees. The five acres surrounding the Worsleys’ home consisted of only grass—no trees.

  WHN TIP: If you plan to plant trees on your property, keep them a safe distance away from your home. The Colorado State Forest Service recommends leaving 20-25 feet between a tree and your home to reduce the likelihood of a fire spreading.

• Metal roofing. Bob Worsley recommends using a copper roof if you live in a wildfire-prone area. Copper or other metal roofing materials are better for fires because they will not catch fire like wood or asphalt shingles might.

  WHN TIP: Copper roofing is more expensive (typically about 4 times more) than asphalt shingling, according to Roofer911.com, but, according to Worsley, “you will never need to replace your roof again.” Copper roofing can last up to 150 years.

• Watering. The Worsley family turned on the hydrants and sprinklers on their property as soon as they heard the Forest Service weather report that a wildfire was moving their way.

  WHN TIP: If you have a propane tank on your property, be particularly cautious. Worsley notes that propane tanks are “very dangerous to have on a fire-prone property: the impact of an exploding propane tank could extend for a quarter of a mile.” If you learn a fire is on its way, “the best thing to do,” Worsley says, is to keep a sprinkler running next to your propane tank for a day or two. This will “keep the tank and everything around it cool, so that the rapid rise in temperature will not explode the tank.”

Read about the lessons Worsley’s neighbors learned after losing their homes to the fire here.

Looking to help those in need or know someone who needs help? We’ve pulled together a quick list of helpful resources:

Safe and Well - From the Red Cross:
With dozens missing and injured, it’s important to stay in touch with your loved ones and let them know you are safe.

• Visit the Red Cross’ Safe and Well site
  
• If you are in the affected area, list yourself as Safe and Well by calling 1(866)GET-INFO (or 1-866-438-4636) or registering on the Safe and Well web site
• If you hear from a loved one in the affected area, enter their information on the site to let people know they are Safe and Well
• If you have phone or internet access, share that with your neighbors who don’t. Invite them to use your computer access to place themselves on the site. Share your cell phone with your neighbors who may need to call 1(866)GET-INFO for help listing their information.

CNN also has a great list of emergency wildfire contact information including evacuation sites and how to help.

Donating

• Donate money to a recognized disaster relief organization such as the Red Cross, Salvation Army or Habitat for Humanity.
• Do not donate food, clothing or other personal items unless they are specifically requested. The volunteer workers we’ve spoken with in the past have said that most organizations do not have the staff or funding available to sort through donated items. They ask that you make monetary donations instead.

Related Articles

Read through these - they also have helpful tips for other events, too, such as home fires, storms, blizzards, tornadoes, and other large-scale emergencies. You can never be too prepared!!

• After a Disaster - How to Help Others
• Filing for Federal Relief (federal funding might be available soon)
  
• Financial Assistance
  
• Insurance - Filing a Claim
• Questions for Your FEMA Official (should FEMA arrive)
• Recovering After a Fire
• Wildfires: Prepare Your Home and Family

Have a site to recommend? Please post it in the Comments section below!

Missed the beginning of the article? Parts one and two.

Volunteering at a hospital is much more than just “candy stripe-ing” - it can be a very fulfilling, educational and rewarding experience. Jenna Barke, a certified child life specialist & volunteer coordinator at Children’s Hospitals & Clinics of Minnesota, offers these tips of advice for interested volunteers:

All right. I’ve decided to give my time to the hospital…but what’s in it for me?

Hospitals (particularly children’s hospitals!) truly could not function without the selfless gifts of volunteers…so many volunteer departments offer volunteering “perks!”

At Children’s-MN, for example, our volunteers receive:

• Free parking
• Meal vouchers for the hospital cafeteria
• Gift shop discounts
• Access to hospital education programs/inservices/workshops
• Discounts to community activities (movie passes, sports tickets, etc.)
• Recommendation letters for academic programs or professional employment…

…and, most importantly, the personal satisfaction of making a difference in hospital patients’ lives!

Okay! I’ve sent in my application, attended an orientation session, and am ready for my first day as a volunteer in the hospital. What should I expect?

• Do expect to be a bit overwhelmed at first. Hospitals are big places, made up of many different departments and units. Don’t worry if you don’t remember where everything in the hospital is: it will take a while! If you get lost, ask a nurse or other hospital staff member…they will typically be more than happy to direct you!

• Do not expect to observe invasive medical procedures, surgeries, life-or-death cases, etc. These types of experiences are typically reserved for medical professionals and/or pre-health students in internship/residency programs. Similarly, do not expect access to critical care areas such as the emergency departments or intensive care units: while some hospitals do have volunteers in these areas, they are typically in administrative positions (answering phones, copying, filing, etc.), not in patient care roles.

• Do expect to see blood, body fluids, etc. If you have a weak stomach, working in a patient care area may not be an ideal fit for you. If you volunteer on the inpatient floors, expect to see scars and hear coughs—it’s a hospital, after all!

• Finally, do come with an open mind. On any given day, you may be asked to rock a baby, finger-paint with a four-year-old, or simply watch a movie with a teenager who wants company. If you come with flexibility and a willingness to help anywhere, you will have a very successful volunteer experience!

Thanks Jenna for being our first guest blogger!

Do you like to write or have great advice you’d like to share with others? We’d love to hear your tips so email us (or feel free to post in the Comments section below!)!

Lifehacker, a personal productivity blog, is running an amazing series full of useful, last-minute tips to help you prepare for your next flight.

We’ve got a list of similar tips:

1. Reconfirm all your reservations and their confirmation numbers
2. Check the weather for your destination(s). Take out or add items to your luggage, if necessary.
3. Make any necessary changes to your itinerary. Leave a copy of it with a friend or family member and a work colleague, just in case someone needs to get a hold of you.
4. Make arrangements for a ride to (and from!) the airport.
5. Double-check you have ON YOUR PERSON all tickets, passports, photo I.D., necessary money, medicine and all bags.

Have a travel tip or story to share? Post it in the Comments!

Missed the first part of this article? Read it here!

Volunteering at a hospital is much more than just “candy stripe-ing” - it can be a very fulfilling, educational and rewarding experience. Jenna Barke, a certified child life specialist & volunteer coordinator at Children’s Hospitals & Clinics of Minnesota, offers these tips of advice for interested volunteers:

What about the interview and orientation?

At my job at Children’s, we tell applicants to approach their volunteer interview as they would a job interview.  Dress professionally, speak clearly (make eye contact!), and articulate your reasons for wanting to spend time in a hospital setting.  What makes you someone who could successfully connect with people who are sick or injured?

Children’s also holds a mandatory three-hour orientation session for all new volunteers.  During this training time, volunteers learn the “nitty-gritty” details of the hospital, such as infection control policies, patient safety regulations, and emergency protocol.

On their first day, new volunteers are paired with an experienced volunteer to “shadow” as they are introduced to the hospital.  After that, volunteers are typically allowed to work on the floors on their own.

What hospital areas are volunteers typically assigned to?

Volunteers can work just about anywhere!  Listed below is just a sampling of the volunteer areas at Children’s:

• Patient care units (inpatient floors)
• Infant Care Center (for newborns & premature babies)
• Hospital lobbies/welcome centers
• Gift shop
• Surgery waiting rooms
• Cafeteria/nutrition services
• Clerical/administrative areas (copy center, mail room, etc.)
• Pharmacy

At Children’s, we try to match volunteers to their interests:  for example, if a volunteer is interested in rocking babies, we will assign them to the nursery Infant Care Center.  If they are interested in working with children with cancer, we will place them on the oncology unit…and so on & so forth!

Check back tomorrow for the rest of Jenna’s article!!  Have a question for Jenna? Email us!

Here’s our first topic from Jenna B., our first guest blogger and our resident hospital expert!!

Volunteering at a hospital is much more than just “candy stripe-ing” - it can be a very fulfilling, educational and rewarding experience. Jenna Barke, a certified child life specialist & volunteer coordinator at Children’s Hospitals & Clinics of Minnesota, offers these tips of advice for interested volunteers:

I’m interested in volunteering at my local hospital. How do I get started?

Visit the hospital’s website. Most hospitals have a volunteer services office, and that office number will typically be available online. Some hospitals (like Children’s of Minnesota!) even have a volunteer services website with an online application.

At Children’s Hospitals & Clinics of Minnesota, prospective volunteers go through a three-part application process:

(1) Application

(2) Interview

(3) Orientation Session

What will my volunteer application involve?

Most hospital volunteer applications are similar to standard job applications. You will be working with medically fragile individuals in a highly confidential setting, so hospitals want to make sure that you are physically and emotionally capable of handling such a position.

In your application, you will provide information about your educational background, relevant work or volunteer experience (particularly any experiences in health care settings), and any special skills (such as foreign languages or face-painting) that might be an asset to your work with patients.

Most hospital volunteer applications also require at least one personal reference/recommendation letter, a copy of your immunization records (to make sure that all of your shots are up to date!) and a Mantoux (tuberculosis screening) test.

Check back tomorrow for the part two of Jenna’s article!!