Dublin Teen Prepares 200 Emergency Kits For Seniors

DUBLIN, CA — “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail,” Benjamin Franklin once said.

A Dublin teen has taken Franklin’s advice to heart and helped create 200 emergency preparedness kits for seniors at Ridgeview Commons, a senior affordable housing community in Pleasanton. Raman Arora, 14, enlisted the help of his Life Scout troop and Alameda County’s 211 service to create the kits and coordinate an emergency preparedness training for the seniors.

Arora completed this as an “Eagle Project” in order to advance to the rank of Eagle Scout. While researching potential ideas, he met Ridgeview Social Service Coordinator Cheryl Dickinson, who told him she felt the seniors, often isolated, needed to be better prepared for emergencies.

“During COVID, most of the seniors have been isolated in their respective apartments, and because you’re in your apartment for a very long time, the chance of an emergency could be very high, and practicing taking all these measures would not be easy, especially since everyone’s in their apartment,” Arora told Patch.

To prepare, Arora met with Lars Eric Holm, disaster preparedness coordinator for Alameda County’s 211 resident hotline, who has given presentations to the seniors in the past. Holm helped Arora prepare his presentation, and let him know what types of items to pack in the “skip kits”, which are designed to last through several different emergencies.

Through GoFundMe and personal donations, Arora and his troop were able to raise $1500 to stuff 200 kits full of just about anything anyone could ever need. Arora and his troop spent roughly 10 hours over the course of two days putting together kits that included:

• Mini FirstAid kit
• Flashlights
• Sharpies
• Notepads
• Handkerchiefs
• Emergency contact information cards
• Toilet paper

On Aug. 3, Arora distributed the kits and gave the presentation.