OVERVIEW

What is KIDPOWER TEENPOWER FULLPOWER International?

KIDPOWER TEENPOWER FULLPOWER International™ (shortened to KIDPOWER™) is a charitable nonprofit organization founded in Santa Cruz, California in 1989.  Our vision is to work together to create cultures of caring, respect, and safety for all. Our mission is to empower people of all ages and abilities by helping them learn how to stay safe, act wisely and believe in themselves. Experts highly recommend the KIDPOWER approach for being positive, practical and relevant for children, teenagers and adults from many different cultures. Worldwide, we have served over 1,000,000 individuals – over 200,000 of these through our workshops and over 800,000 through our educational programs.

Why is KIDPOWER Important?

Emotional and physical violence and abuse threaten all of us, especially children, teenagers, women and people with disabilities. To combat the sense of fear and helplessness this threat brings, people need to learn real skills to deal with these real issues. KIDPOWER services can help people of different ages, abilities and walks of life learn to protect themselves from most bullying, harassment, molestation, assault and abduction.

What Solutions Does KIDPOWER Offer?

KIDPOWER offers workshops, publications and training on our very positive and practical method of teaching self-protection, advocacy, confidence and personal safety skills. Our system explains concepts through examples that are meaningful to our participants, practices skills through relevant activities and adapts teaching techniques so that each student is successful at practicing each skill presented. Even though the issues can be serious, learning to protect yourself and to speak up for yourself and others can be empowering, exciting and fun.

Where are KIDPOWER Services Available?

KIDPOWER has centers and representatives in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, Pakistan, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Belgium, Peru, Switzerland, India, Germany, and South Africa. We adapt our services to meet the needs of different cultures. With the Youth Education Services of the National New Zealand Police, we have developed “Confident Kids”, a pilot program that is bringing personal safety practices from our KIDPOWER program to New Zealand elementary schools nationwide. In August, 2005, we conducted an international conference in Montreal to train professionals from charitable organizations serving young people who face dangerous life situations. Since then, through our Reaching Out Project, professionals from NGOs from developing countries are learning how to adapt the KIDPOWER system of teaching personal safety skills to help prevent violence and abuse for young people who are living and/or working on the street, who are being exploited because of economic vulnerability, or whose communities have been disrupted by war or natural disaster.

Our instructors travel to places where we do not yet have centers. We have a comprehensive program for training new instructors and program organizers to establish services in their own communities. We also have an ongoing system for upholding quality to ensure that we sustain our commitment to excellence as we grow. We provide consultation by email and telephone to people around the world about how to use our skills to resolve specific problems.

How Did KIDPOWER Begin?

In collaboration with many other committed people, Executive Director/Co-Founder Irene van der Zande has led the development of services, training of instructors and organization of centers since the organization was established in 1989. The incident that inspired Irene happened in 1985 in Santa Cruz, California when she protected 8 young children, including her 7-year-old daughter and her 4-year-old son, from a man who was threatening to kidnap them. Irene gathered educators, law enforcement officials, mental health professionals, martial artists, safety experts and parents to start KIDPOWER, which evolved into KIDPOWER TEENPOWER FULLPOWER International.

Who Else is Involved in KIDPOWER?

Ellen Bass, co-author of the groundbreaking book The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse, is the Founding President of our Board of Directors. Timothy Dunphy, a sixth degree Black Belt and international champion winner in Taekwondo, is the other Co-Founder. Nonprofit Activist Nancy Driscoll is the current President of our Board of Directors. Hundreds of highly dedicated people teach our programs, organize our workshops, lead our Centers, and serve on our Boards of Directors. These individuals are leaders in their own communities. They include social workers, attorneys, therapists, martial artists, educators, physicians, police officers, community organizers, and business people. They include friends, parents, other family members, neighbors, and employers.

What Services are Offered?

Everyday Safety Training allows students to practice strategies that will help keep them safe every day with people they know, peers, bullies, and strangers. Full Force Training offers students the opportunity to practice self-defense skills full force with a head-to-toe padded instructor.

KIDPOWER trainings include: EARLIEST TEACHABLE MOMENT for parents and caregivers of babies, toddlers and preschoolers, KIDPOWER personal safety skill training for children from 3 to 12 and their parents, teachers or caregivers; YOUTHPOWER for young people from 9 to 12; TEENPOWER for teenagers; FULLPOWER for adults; WORKPOWER for work place safety programs; COLLEGEPOWER for college students; POLICEPOWER for law enforcement staff; PARENTPOWER to help parents and caregivers set boundaries, manage emotions and get help; and SENIORPOWER for older people. We also offer ADAPTED PROGRAMS for people with difficult life challenges such as having a disability, living in a dangerous place, or being a survivor of violence and abuse.  

PROFESSIONAL STAFF TRAININGS for schools and agencies serving youths and adults prepare their staff to teach personal safety skills on their own and to incorporate our system of teaching into their own curriculum or activities. The PERSONAL SAFETY PROJECT prepares middle and high school teachers to introduce self defense and violence prevention skills and to begin to educate students about issues related to bullying, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and domestic/interpersonal violence. TEACHERPOWER provides nonviolent aggression management skills to professional educators.  Our REACHING OUT PROJECT prepares professionals working with charitable organizations in countries that have great economic challenges to teach personal safety skills to young people in dangerous life situations. We also provide consultation and training to people who wish to add experiential learning to their own training presentations through our program: SUCCESS-BASED LEARNING: HOW TO TURN PROBLEMS INTO PRACTICES.

Is There Any Proof That KIDPOWER is Effective?

For years, we have had very positive evaluations and feedback from our participants, including many success stories of people using their personal safety skills both to improve their daily lives and to stop dangerous situations. In 2004, the effectiveness of our services for young children was documented through an outside professional evaluation of our KIDPOWER program conducted by LaFrance Associates with funding from the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health.

Almost 95% of the parents and caregivers of over 550 Head Start children from multi-cultural low-income families observed that their children were safer because of their KIDPOWER training. Parents and caregivers reported that most of these 3 to 5-year-old children remembered most of the skills four to nine months after the training. Over 90% reported that they personally felt better prepared to explain safety skills to their children.

In 2005, a similar study was conducted by an independent professional evaluator with 840 8 to 12-year-old students and their teachers in New Zealand. Both teachers and children reported after three months that the students used the skills to reduce conflict, that learning the skills increased their confidence and reduced their anxiety, and that they found that the program was “fun.”

A research project for a Ph.D. study on the effects of self-protection training of early adolescent girls trained by KIDPOWER and another organization found that KIDPOWER has all of the elements that the girls defined as being important for their training to help them both feel and be safer.  

We are currently working on a long-range study that will lead to accreditation of KIDPOWER as an “evidence-based” program.

Why we do what we do...

Violence and abuse are among the leading health issues of our time. Statistics from law enforcement and crime prevention agencies in the United States estimate that:

• More than 100,000 children each year will become victims of reported attempted kidnappings by strangers (in the US alone!).

• 1 out of 3 girls and 1 out of 6 boys will be sexually abused before the age of 18.

• 1 out of 7 school children is harmed by bullying.

• 85% of today’s 12-year-olds will be victims of a violent crime in their lifetime. This means that their risk of being assaulted is greater than their risk of being in a serious car accident.

People from all walks of life often feel helpless in the face of physical and verbal confrontations. Survivors of assault, abuse, bullying, or harassment may have to overcome damage to their sense of power and self-worth. Too many people find their freedom limited by fear and their joy in life diminished by loss of self confidence.

The good news is...

That the simple, effective skills we teach will help prevent and stop most bullying, molestation, assault and abduction. The majority of these skills can be used on an every day basis to prevent most trouble before it starts. Practicing skills tends to reduce anxiety, raise self-esteem, and build competence. By making the learning and practicing of these important skills a priority for ourselves and our loved ones, we can improve the safety and quality of our lives.

KIDPOWER works because....

Our workshops emphasize experiential, success-based learning, because research strongly indicates that people who practice skills are more likely to use them effectively when in uncomfortable or threatening situations. Our experience is that people learn more by doing than by talking about doing. For this reason, we ensure that our students successfully practice each idea presented. This experience builds confidence and competence and develops skills in our students' bodies as well as in their minds. Skills are taught in a way that is not scary or overwhelming, but that is positive and respects people’s learning process.

How Can You Benefit from KIDPOWER’s Resources?

1. Learn more by visiting our web page at http://www.kidpower.org/ and subscribing to our free monthly enewsletter. You can also call our office at 1-800-467-6997 (USA) or (0) 1-831-426-4407 (international).
2. Organize a workshop for your family and friends, neighborhood, school, workplace, or community organization. Our programs are short and tailored to fit your needs.
3. Apply to train as an instructor and/or organizer to bring services to your community.
4. Visit the Learning Center on our web page to read our free articles. Consider purchasing the cartoon-illustrated KIDPOWER or FULLPOWER Safety Plan Comic Books or Teaching Kits, the KIDPOWER Book for Caring Adults, the KIDPOWER and TEENPOWER/FULLPOWER Comprehensive Program Manuals, and our other educational materials at our online store.
5. Make a tax-deductible donation to help KIDPOWER achieve our vision that people everywhere will have access to our services. This is a secure site through Groundspring. Donate now!

For a comprehensive description of the many people involved in the creation and success of KIDPOWER, see KIDPOWER – A Tapestry Woven by Many Different Hands.