You know that the Prevention of Child Abuse is our National Project - the project was approved at the National Convention held in St. Louis in 1979. But how does Exchange help prevent child abuse?

Locally, we financially support organizations such as the Advocacy Network for Children, Transitions and Cornerstone. These organizations not only deal with the aftermath of child abuse and neglect, but also have programs in place to help families prevent child abuse from occurring in the first place.

Nationally, Exchange has a network of about 70 Child Abuse Preventive or CAP Centers - two of which are located in Illinois. The Illinois Centers are located in Naperville and Joliet and derive some of their support from the local Exchange Clubs in those communities. The National Exchange Club and the NEC Foundation provide support for the CAP Centers in the form of training, materials and resources. For more than 30 years, A CAP Symposium has been held in conjunction with the National Convention - this year, more than 60 centers were represented at the Symposium.   

Through the years, Exchange CAP Centers have assisted nearly 700,000 families, creating safer homes for 1.75 million children. The evidence-based Exchange Parent Aide model is a family home-visitation model. Parent Aides are trained, professionally supervised individuals (paid and volunteer) who provide supportive and educational, in-home services to families at-risk of child abuse and neglect. Exchange Parent Aides act as mentors and provide intensive support, information, and modeling of effective parenting -- all in the home of the family.