NEWS RELEASE

The Center for Hope, 20 Prospect St ● Ballston Spa, NY 12020 ● hope4themissing.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Nov.7, 2011

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Doug and Mary Lyall at 518-884-8761 ~ hope4themissing@yahoo.com

Scholarships available for radKIDS

Children’s Safety Instructor Training Program

Child safety advocates including police and education professionals will become trained and certified in the radKIDS Personal Empowerment Safety Education curriculum in early spring 2012 in the Saratoga Springs area. The cost per instructor is $450.00, and organizations are encouraged to train a team of two instructors to most effectively reach the children and families in their community. Funding for the scholarships is being sought through area businesses and organizations.

The radKIDS Instructor Training class is a four-day, 32-hour course open to law enforcement and education professionals, after school program providers, child advocacy programs, and concerned parents. Upon successful completion of the program, graduates are nationally certified to teach the radKIDS program to children ages 5 through 12. The radKIDS curriculum, taught throughout the U.S., gives children the knowledge and skills they need to “resist aggression defensively” (rad). Through radKIDS training, children become empowered, replacing the fear, confusion, and panic of dangerous situations with confidence, personal safety skills, and self-assurance. The radKIDS curriculum includes home/school/vehicle and bicycle safety (including Internet safety, bullying prevention and gun safety), out-and-about safety in the community, personal space and personal touch safety, and physical resistance to violence.

Every child without safety education is a possible and “easy” target for violence.” says Stephen M. Daley of Harwich, Mass. executive director of radKIDS and presenter of the instructor training program. “We have to give our children the necessary tools and information so they will no longer be that target. Our mission is to provide education that enhances the ability of children to use knowledge, skills, and power to protect themselves from violence and harm.

Since 1998, radKIDS has reached thousands of children across North America and has documented hundreds of successes in the prevention of violence and harm to children, including over 69 actual prevented abduction attempts and thousands of saves from sexual assault, molestation and bullying. The hands-on, activity-based radKIDS curriculum is taught nationwide in schools (in physical education and health), after school programs (town recreation departments, YMCAs, boys and girls clubs, Brownie troops), community policing initiatives (including summer safety camps), vacation camps, child abuse advocacy programs, and faith-based organizations.

For more information on radKIDS and scholarship applications, visit www.hope4themissing.org or call (518) 884-8761