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Instructor Mike with Erika after a Fullpower workshop!
Today, our instructor Mike was moved to learn that a teen stopped an assault using skills he had taught in a 2-hour Teenpower workshop 5 years ago. The classroom teacher, whose students have intellectual disabilities, told us:
“A month after your class, as our student was walking home, a man drove up, got out of his car, and started approaching and talking to her. When he reached out to touch her, she stepped away, made a boundary with her hands, stood confidently, and yelled, “STOP! I DON’T LIKE THAT!” The man was surprised, and he froze for a moment, giving the girl’s friend enough time to start making a video of the incident. The man ran back to his car and drove away. The police used the video to find him. He had been harassing other women and girls in the community – and thanks to the quick action of both girls, the police caught him! The girls AND our WHOLE COMMUNITY are safer!”
When he heard this story, Mike, who is a full time musician and busy parent of two young kids, wrote, “The fact that some people would walk away from a class FEELING safer has always been enough. Knowing it actually helped KEEP someone safe in a way that led to keeping a community safer warms my heart beyond words!”
We are accepting applications NOW for Kidpower Core Program Training January 24-29 in Santa Cruz, California! Kidpower instructors come from all walks of life. Most do other jobs, including parenting, full-time – and they say that being part of Kidpower makes their lives better, in addition to making people safer!
Kidpower instructors are safety heroes with the power to give others confidence and skills to protect themselves and the ones they love.
We welcome applications from people worldwide. However, here in the greater San Francisco/Monterey Bay Area, we have such a high demand that instructors have the privilege of being supported by workshop coordinators who are constantly arranging classes. People in most other areas need to organize workshops they want to teach. In this area, once you are qualified, there is an opportunity to teach paid workshops – and WE NEED YOU!
Applications are due December 15, so please contact us at safety@kidpower.org right away to learn more.
Published: November 15, 2017 | Last Updated: November 9, 2018
Irene van der Zande, Kidpower Founder and Executive Director
Kidpower Founder and Executive Irene van der Zande is a master at teaching safety through stories and practices and at inspiring others to do the same. Her child protection and personal safety expertise has been featured by USA Today, CNN, Today Moms, the LA Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Publications include: cartoon-illustrated Kidpower Safety Comics and Kidpower Teaching Books curriculum; Bullying: What Adults Need to Know and Do to Keep Kids Safe; the Relationship Safety Skills Handbook for Teens and Adults; Earliest Teachable Moment: Personal Safety for Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers; The Kidpower Book for Caring Adults: Personal Safety, Self-Protection, Confidence, and Advocacy for Young People, and the Amazon Best Seller Doing Right by Our Kids: Protecting Child Safety at All Levels.
