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It doesn’t feel like it was so long ago that we held our first Kidpower class with just seven kids and their parents.
So I’m astonished and excited to announce that Kidpower has served over 4 MILLION people through our workshops, partnerships with other organizations, and educational resources like our books and articles.
I thought you would enjoy this story about one of our Kidpower families whose mother wrote after they had learned this news.
Wow! Four million! When my seven-year-old daughter brought this up with me last night, she said, “Hmm…are you sure it isn’t 4 billion? I am pretty sure Irene said it was 4 billion.”
And, I laughed and said, “I think it is 4 million, which really is quite a lot, don’t you think?” My daughter thought about it for a minute and said, “Sure is a lot! Think of all those zeros.”
Then I said, “You know, there are only about 7 billion people in the whole entire world.”
And, with the calm and clarity of a 7 year old, my child said wisely,”What if Kidpower served 4 billion people? What would that be like, Mama? Pretty great, huh!”
And, I thought about what that would be like, and fought back a few tears, and said, “Yes, that would be pretty great!”
Last year, we made it over 3 million. When we analyzed the numbers this month, we realized that we had added nearly another 1 million people in 2015 alone.
We base our estimates of numbers served on: the number of people who directly take workshops with us; the children and other vulnerable people who benefit from Kidpower because their parents, educators, and other important adults are better prepared to keep them safe and teach them how to take charge of their own well being; the people who are gaining knowledge and skills through our partnerships; the requests we respond to through email; and the people who are using our books and online educational resources.
We are conservative in these estimates, always picking a lower number and saying “over”. This number of people served does NOT count the children a classroom teacher might continue teaching safety skills in future years; or the youth group, or martial arts school, or the school programs that someone buying one of our Safety Comics or other books might teach outside of our partnerships or direct contacts; or the people we have provided important personal safety tips and child protection information to through tv and radio interviews, or newspaper articles.
As my dear (and very reserved) Dutch husband Ed said to me, “Not too bad.”
Thank you for your interest, enthusiasm, and support for Kidpower! With your help, people all over the world are using Kidpower to make children, teens, and adults in their families, schools, organizations, workplaces, and communities safer, happier, and stronger.
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Published: December 29, 2015 | Last Updated: December 29, 2015
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.
