Copyright Notice
|
| Please see our copyright information
|
|
|
Dear Readers,
|
Having just celebrated the close of 2007 and the beginning of our new year, I want to share a few thoughts about cheering.
 Sometimes people make fun of the amount of cheering and clapping we do for our students in KIDPOWER. They tell me it is "very California" to make such a fuss and that their culture is much more reserved. I've had this comment from individuals who are members of every culture we've ever worked with, including my own.
However, these same people in these same cultures will cheer wildly for celebrities, at political events, and for their favorite team in sports. Many of them probably celebrated the beginning of the new year.
Although there are exceptions, people in most cultures can go completely over the top when it comes to being wildly enthusiastic about things they care about.
Why shouldn't the safety of children be even more important than winning at sports?
I believe that cultural difficulty in expressing enthusiasm is not the issue - what is the issue is learning to act as enthusiastic about each person taking care of herself or himself as we are about sports stars making scores for our favorite team or famous people singing our favorite songs.
All our cultures will be better places when we can clap and cheer each time someone walks away from trouble, sets a clear boundary, speaks up for the well-being of her/himself and others, and is persistent in getting help. Each time, this person is working hard to overcome possible embarrassment, inconvenience, or offense. These emotional challenges can be just as great as any physical challenges and I believe that we should very enthusiastically celebrate them.
Cheering and clapping to wish all of you a wonderful 2008,
Irene van der Zande
KIDPOWER Executive Director/Co-Founder
|
Caring Men Who Say Women are Weaker
|
Reader's Question: As a woman, I know first-hand the confidence and awareness I carry with me everywhere I go thanks to the training I had with you. The problem is that many of my friends don't understand. One man keeps telling his girl friend that she just isn't as strong as a man and she agrees with him! I know that this isn't a safe way for her to think about herself. What can I say to help both of them?
KIDPOWER Answer from Irene: Deeply held beliefs are hard to change. Most caring men want to protect the important women and girls in their lives and are deeply upset about how much violence is committed by men. Too often, caring men who are worried about the safety of the women they love will try to make them be careful by making them afraid, because they don't know what else to do. Too often, women and girls are socialized to see themselves as the nurturers and as the "weaker sex" who need men to be their protectors and keep them safe.
Part of the problem is that people tend to define power in traditional ways - by size and muscle strength - where indeed many women are at a disadvantage from many man.
Instead, we can teach people to define power to include the ways that both women and men, boys and girls, of different ages and abilities can be powerful -- the power of awareness, the power of self-control, the power of taking charge, the power of asking for help, the power of speaking up, the power of strong boundaries, the power of yelling and running, the power of having a safety plan, the power of thinking things through, the power of knowing you have choices - and, if need be, the power of using the strong parts of your body against the weaker parts of an attacker's body to defend yourself.
All of these different ways of being powerful can prevent and stop most difficult or dangerous problems with people much more effectively than size and muscle strength.
We teach our students of all ages that belief in their ability to be powerful and effective is the most important People Safety tool they have. Practicing the many ways they can be powerful helps build this belief, prepares our students to protect themselves from most kinds of harm, and increases their ability to advocate for the well-being of themselves and others.
|
|
TEENPOWER/ FULLPOWER Instructor Training Announcement
|
 We are now accepting applications for the TEENPOWER/ FULLPOWER
Comprehensive Program Training. This intensive five-day program
provides an opportunity to learn about our positive practical method of
teaching personal safety skills to teens and adults, including people
facing difficult life challenges. The training takes place in California from April 25th through April 29th.
|
The KIDPOWER Book for Caring Adults
|
Searching for gifts for your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers? Need something special for your children's daycare providers, teachers, coaches, and troop leaders?
The KIDPOWER Book for Caring Adults is the perfect solution for everyone you know who cares about children!
The KIDPOWER Book for Caring Adults: Personal Safety, Self-Protection, Confidence, and Advocacy for Young People was created in response to the requests of thousands of people who wanted a comprehensive description of our program that they could use in their daily lives. According to Kate Brophy, editor of supernanny.us.com, "What a fantastic resource the Kidpower book is! It should be required reading for every parent and teacher. I can't believe the breadth of advice and the depth of insig... it's a great achievement!"
|
|
Your Gift Matched Dollar-for-Dollar Until January 15th!
|
 The gifts of time, money, and expertise from countless people like yourself have led to KIDPOWER International bringing the effective empowering teaching of People Safety skills to over a million children, teenagers and adults, including those with special needs, close to home and around the world.
To increase our impact, one of our long-time supporters has generously offered to match, dollar for dollar, all donations given to KIDPOWER International from now to January 15, 2008.
- $500 provides educational materials and coaching for a team of professionals serving children in danger.
- $125 brings KIDPOWER skills to a family in crisis.
- $50 covers the average cost of training for each child we serve.
- $35 provides personalized support by e-mail to anyone who is struggling with difficult or dangerous personal safety problems anywhere in the world.
These skills make a difference immediately and can last a lifetime. As one mother told us, "My daughter often felt helpless and frightened. Thanks to KIDPOWER, her belief in her ability to take charge of her safety is giving her joy every single day. These simple ideas and skills are going to serve her for years to come."
KIDPOWER is recommended by a wide variety of experts for being safe, effective, and empowering. According to violence prediction expert and best-selling author Gavin deBecker, "KIDPOWER has an exceptional track record in the field of personal safety and violence prevention."
Please give as generously as you can. Every dollar you donate brings the joy of People Safety to all.
|
|
WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT!
|
 MANY THANKS to our hundreds of donors and volunteers. Your generosity is making a big difference in our ability to help others.
MANY
THANKS to the Corporate, Foundation, Service Club, and Government
Partners of our Central Office: Albany Lions, Allstate Foundation,
Applied Materials, Atkinson Foundation, Bank of the West, Bayer
Foundation, Big Sky Creative, Blue Shield of California Foundation,
California Endowment, Canadian International Development Agency, Castro
Valley Rotary, Citigroup Foundation, Cisco Systems Foundation, Santa Cruz Commission for the Prevention of Violence
Against Women, Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County, Community Printers of Santa Cruz, David and
Lucile Packard Foundation, The Dean and Margaret Lesher Foundation, DeAnza Lions, Deluxe Corporation Foundation,
Driscoll's Charitable Fund, East Bay Community Foundation, Ecolab,
Ephraim Foundation, Finish Line Youth Foundation,the June and Julian Foss Foundation, Freedom Rotary, Fremont Bank, Gayle's Bakery and
Rosticerria, Giant Steps Foundation, Google, the Health Trust, Hitachi America, Ltd., Hitachi
Data Systems, Hitachi High Technologies America, Inc., Hitachi
Foundation, Insurance Industry Charitable
Foundation, In-N-Out Burger, JM Long Foundation, Kaiser Permanente,
Jean and Ed Kelly Foundation, Lowell Berry Foundation, Lucile Packard
Foundation for Children's Health, CTB/McGraw-Hill, Mechanics Bank,
Mervyn's, Omega Nu, Peninsula Community Foundation, Plantronics, Porter
Sesnon Foundation, Arnie Kamrin of PPi Technologies Global, Radio
Shack, Rite Aid Foundation, Ruddie Memorial Youth Foundation, Russell
Investment Group, Safeway, San Lorenzo Valley Rotary, San Francisco Foundation,
Santa Cruz Medical Clinic, Scotts Valley Lions, Scotts Valley Rotary,
Seagate, Sharpdots.com, Silicon Valley Community
Foundation,SmithMicro, Sonora Area Foundation, Staples
Foundation for Learning, Target Stores, Tides Foundation, Tuolumne
County First 5 Commission, TRIO Foundation, Union Bank of California, Union City Lions,
Wayne and Gladys Valley Foundation, Verizon, Vodaphone, Waste
Management, Wells Fargo Foundation, West Marine, and the Y. & H.
Soda Foundation.
|
|
