News Coverage – Archive

Archived News: Kidpower International and Local Centers

Kidpower is a nonprofit leader in child protection and personal safety education, including bullying prevention, child abuse prevention, stranger safety (awareness and abduction prevention), and self-defense — with a positive approach and life skills that build confidence and promote healthy relationships.

Kidpower has served nearly 5 million people of all ages and abilities on six continents, and has been featured in hundreds of local and national print, electronic, and television media, including CNN, The New York Times, ABC, USA Today, Today Moms, Bay Area Parent, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Wall Street Journal, and the Chicago Tribune.

Examples of news and media coverage for Kidpower:

Kidpower Safety Comics for younger children (ages 3-10) Book Cover Image

September 1, 2015 — Press Release from Little Pickle Press — Little Pickle Press Partners with Kidpower to Release Updated Kidpower Safety Comics On September 29th, Little Pickle Press will begin distribution of three Kidpower titles, each of which is designed for a specific age group. These will include: Kidpower Safety Comics: People Safety Skills for Children Ages 3-10; Kidpower Youth Safety Comics: People Safety Skills for Kids Ages 9-14; and Fullpower Safety Comics: People Safety Skills for Teens and Adults.

August 28, 2015 — Register-Pajaronian — Police donate funds to Kidpower — The Watsonville Police Assistance Fund donated $2,000 to Kidpower Thursday to continue holding a series of child safety workshops. Sgt. Henry Robles, who is also chairman of the WPAF, said the first series of workshops held earlier in August at the Watsonville Family YMCA received a positive response from the public. “Because of the positive response, we are donating money and hoping that local businesses will match or beat our donation so we can continue these workshops,” he said. (Newspaper press clipping)

August 19, 2015 — The Wilson Post — Parents warned about ‘stranger danger’ after attempted abduction — After an alleged attempted abduction, advice from the local police chief and Kidpower’s Executive Director and Founder, Irene van der Zande, about stranger safety and how to teach children safety skills for when they are walking around in the neighborhood and on the way to and from school.

August 7, 2015 — KOIN Channel 5 News — KOINrightnow.com — Parents learn how to explain tragedies, like Maddy Middleton, to their kids — KOIN TV coverage of special workshops for parents in the wake of a tragic killing in the community – to help them know what to say to their kids and how to keep them safe.

August 5, 2015 — KOIN Channel 5 News — KOINrightnow.com — Kid safety workshops offered in Santa Cruz County — ‘When an awful crime such as Maddy’s happens, it shatters the illusion of the safety of familiarity and spurs families to prepare for an unpredictable danger. After news of Maddy’s death broke, Santa Cruz-based Kidpower, which focuses on preventing violence and the abuse of children, scrambled to respond to parents’ requests for child-safety training sessions.’ Suggestions and resources from Kidpower and others in the wake of this tragedy.

July 30, 2015 — The Santa Cruz Sentinel — Advocates recommend talking with children about Santa Cruz child’s homicideAdvice from local experts and tips from Kidpower about how to talk with children about tragedies without scaring them.

June 30, 2015 — Contra Costa Times — How to help keep kids safe from predators — Advice for keeping kids safe when they go away to camp, after the arrest of a ‘suspected child predator’ who was a longtime staff member of a popular camp.

April 22, 2015 — Mansfield News Journal — Stranger danger education saved a child from abduction — An article about how a child ran back into school to safety when approached by a stranger and the response of the school, which sent out Kidpower stranger safety skills tips to parents.

January 9, 2015 — WRAL.com Go Ask Mom — “Stranger Safety: Move Away Stay Out of Reach, Get to a Grown Up” —With the troubling news from Wake Forest about incidents where strangers have been approaching children, I turned to Triangle mom, author and child safety expert Amy Tiemann for guidance on how we can help our kids stay safe.” Advice from Kidpower North Carolina Center Director with safety tips for stranger safety.

"Beyond the Headlines" hosted by ABC7s Cheryl Jennings, Sunday Oct. 19, 2014, interviewing Irene van der Zande.

“Beyond the Headlines” hosted by ABC7s Cheryl Jennings, Sunday Oct. 19, 2014, interviewing Irene van der Zande.

October 19, 2014 — ABC7 TV — Beyond The Headlines Hosted by ABC7’s Cheryl Jennings Weekly news show featuring several guests, including two segments about bullying prevention, skills for stopping bullying and a discussion about cyberbullying with Irene van der Zande, founder of Kidpower and author of Bullying: What adults need to know and do to keep kids safe and upcoming book, Face Bullying with Confidence.

October 9, 2014 — Midland Daily News (Midland, MI) — CAN Council works to empower communities to keep children safe  an opinion column by Natalie Tucker including a review of  various resources available to prevent child sexual abuse, highlighting Kidpower’s programs and website, as well as the resources we co-developed with PCA; policies, videos and webinars to help parents, coaches and youth sports leaders take positive action to prevent child sexual abuse in youth sports.

Volume 44, September 2014, Pages 152–162

Volume 44, September 2014, Pages 152–162

September 2014  Children and Youth Services Review (Volume 44, September 2014, Pages 152–162)  Empowering children with safety-skills: An evaluation of the Kidpower Everyday Safety-Skills Program — This well-documented academic journal article was published with full public access as long as the study title, journal, and authors are cited. Authors: Assistant Professor Alaina Brenick, Phd, of the University of Connecticut, Julie Shattuck of Applied Research + Evaluation, Alice Donlanc, Shinchieh Duhd, Professor Eileen L. Zurbriggen, Phd, of the University of California at Santa Cruz.  The article includes a thorough literature review demonstrating how the Kidpower program “uses best practices in victimization risk-reduction and prevention” and an independent analysis of the findings of the “The Effects of the Kidpower Everyday Safety Skills on Third Grade Children” demonstrating the effectiveness of the Kidpower program in teaching safety skills to children. (PDF)

May 27, 2014 — The Gazette — AROUND TOWN: Chocolate-powered Kidpower celebrates 20 years — Kidpower Colorado’s Chocoholic Frolic 2014, one of [Colorado Springs’] most popular benefits, raised more than $90,000 for Kidpower to continue the child safety training that has reached 40,000 kids over the last 20 years.

May 24, 2014 — Berkeley Playhouse Press Release — Berkeley Playhouse Presents Shrek The Musical — The theatre announced a partnership with Kidpower to promote our bullying prevention educational resources.

Jan. 7, 2013 — Children’s Advocate — Teaching Kids to be Safe, article about a workshop — This article outlines important points that were taught in a recent Kidpower workshop and provides success stories.

Nov. 12, 2013 — The Colorado Springs Business Journal — 2013 Women of Influence (Video 1:36) — Jan Isaacs Henry, director of Kidpower’s Colorado center is recognized for her 20+ years of leadership and and significant efforts to improve safety for a generation of children.

Nov. 11, 2013 — Fox 21 News Colorado — Kidpower teaches kids to be strong, not scared (Video 1:36, featured above) — News video shows glimpses from a workshop in Colorado Springs with interviews of Kidpower Colorado director, Jan Isaacs Henry and parents of kids in the workshop.

Nov. 2, 2013 — KKTV 11 News — Talking To Kids About Safety Emergencies — After a kidnapping in Aurora, 11 News talked to Jan Isaacs Henry from Kidpower of Colorado about how parents could approach their kids and what needs to be said.

Oct. 8, 2013 — Rite Aid Foundation Awards $10,000 to Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower (pdf) — Including this new grant, The Rite Aid Foundation has awarded Kidpower $70,000 over the past decade.

Oct. 7, 2013 — Hands and Voices — Preparing Children for More Independence  Parents often struggle with the question, “How can I give my child more independence while keeping her or him safe?” Instead of taking an “all-or-nothing” approach to having children do different activities without adult supervision, Kidpower recommends a five-step plan.

Dec. 22, 2012 — Santa Cruz Sentinel — Protecting Kids from the Emotional Trauma of Violence — Article reflects on recent school shooting incidents and other violent news stories and warns about the trauma that children can experience even when just watching and listening to news reports about violence. Chief of Police in Watsonville, Manny Solano, provides Kidpower safety skills to inform parents and adults on ways they can make their children feel safer and keep them free from emotional trauma in the wake of violent events.

Dec. 17, 2012 — Santa Cruz Sentinel — Kidpower taps power of social media with One Million Safer Kids campaign — Article interviews Kidpower Founder, Irene van der Zande about Kidpower using social media to reach further in it’s mission to making a million children safer.

Dec. 15, 2012 — KKTV 11 News — How to talk to your kids about Newtown Tragedy — KKTV 11 News interviews Kidpower of Colorado Executive Director Jan Isaacs Henry about how to talk to your kids after the Newtown school shooting.

Dec. 12, 2012 — Autism Speaks Blog — Holiday Safety Plan — Guest post by Kidpower Founder, Irene van der Zande.

Nov. 6, 2012 — Contra Costa Times — False alarm of suspicious behavior sparks safety discussions — Kidpower is mentioned and quoted as a resource in article about parent and school responses to reports of suspicious behavior near a school in Pacifica.

Oct. 28, 2012 — Thrive For Change Blog — Let’s Talk About Bullying The blog quotes from our book, Bullying – What Adults Need To Know And Do To Keep Kids Safe (2010).  “Irene van der Zande describes several metaphors for kids to embrace for resilience, including a hardened ‘shell,’ an ’emotional raincoat,’ and ‘the trash can.’   She describes several ‘powers’ they have, such as ‘walk away power,’ ‘mouth closed power,’ and ‘setting boundaries.'”

Oct. 21, 2012 — KKTV 11 News — Child Uses Kidpower to Avoid Potential Abduction — On October 21, 2012, a Woodland Park child was told to get into the car of a stranger. The boy said “No!” and ran to a neighbor’s house, something his mother said he learned to do in a Kidpower school-based workshop.

Oct. 11, 2012 — KOAA News 5 —  Tips on Teaching Child Safety — After Jessica Ridgeway’s disappearance, KOAA News 5 talks to Kidpower about how parents can talk to their kids about safety.

Sep. 7, 2012 — The Current — Editorial: Schools Tackling Bullies, But Can’t Do It Alone — Features Kidpower skills parents can teach kids to help stop and prevent bullying.

June 20, 2012 — CNN — I don’t own my child’s body — CNN article by Katia Hetter about teaching children that affection is their own choice – quotes Kidpower Founder, Irene van der Zande.

June 21, 2012 — San Jose Mercury News — Should girls fight back? — With the Sierra LaMar abduction case in the news, this article is about how girls can protect themselves against violence, with quotes from Kidpower’s Irene van der Zande.

May 22, 2012 — Good Times Santa Cruz — Safe and Sound — After the death of a local Santa Cruz business owner, Irene van der Zande offers key ways to feel safe and sound in your community. “Having a tragic thing like this happen serves to shake us out of denial, and forces us to regroup. We need to make meaning of this death as individuals by garnering safety skills, sharing safety skills, sharing stories, and developing our competence in safety awareness.”

April 27, 2012 — The Gazette — Coaching the Coaches, Abuse case heightens awareness in youth leagues  This article addresses the growing issue of sexual abuse in youth leagues. Irene van der Zande is quoted about guarding against the “illusion of safety” and says that adults should not blindly trust whoever is supervising children.

Apr 14, 2012 — The New York Times — Coaches Face New Scrutiny on Sex Abuse — Kidpower is quoted in Jesse McKinley’s article in The New York Times; quoting from material Irene van der Zande presented in the two hour-long child sex abuse prevention webinars that Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) co-hosted with Kidpower in February 2012.

Mar. 23, 2012 — KKTV 11 News — Middle Schooler Refuses Stranger’s Order to Get in Car — KKTV 11 News describes recent case of a stranger approaching a local middle school student with advice from Kidpower on what to do to stay safe.

Mar. 12, 2012 — World Pulse:Voices Rising — Safe Children. Empowered Children An article about adapting Kidpower child safety strategies and skills for “non-developed” countries and cultures, and how Kidpower lessons were adapted for trainings at Zimbabwe’s Villages of Hope orphanage and school, held for local professionals and volunteers as well as several who also came in from Malawi and Zambia for Kidpower training.

Mar. 9, 2012 — NAASCA Talk Radio — “Stop Child Abuse Now” talk radio show (post-show article)  — Listen to Show

Jan. 25, 2012 — KKTV 11 News — How you can keep your kids safe (video) — KKTV 11 News describes recent abuse cases and shows the effectiveness and importance of boundary setting in a January 2012 Kidpower workshop.

Dec. 18, 2011 — iLookBothWays.com — No Forced Kisses for your Kids: A Holiday Safety Tip for Families — Linda Criddle offers a recommendation for Kidpower’s work and reprints our article, written by Kidpower North Carolina Director, Amy Tiemann.

Nov. 11, 2011 — Richmond Confidential TV — School district provides tools to build a bully-resistant child (video 1:30) — The video follows a parent who after discovering her child was being bullied, took a Kidpower parent education workshop to learn how to help her child with self-protection skills.

Nov. 11, 2011 — KKTV 11 News — Keeping Kids Safe from Abuse — From daycare and after-school programs to athletics and clubs, we trust our kids with quite a few people. Many parents are asking, “How do we know who we can trust?”

Oct. 31, 2011 — San Jose Mercury News — Kidpower launches One Million Safer Kids campaign to teach kids and teenagers personal safety skills — Article includes an interview with Kidpower’s Irene van der Zande and a story of a middle schooler who stopped bullying using skills learned in a Kidpower workshop.

Sep. 26, 2011 — Examiner.com — Kidpower to offer workshops for kids and teens with developmental disabilities — News coverage for free safety and confidence-building workshops for kids and teens with developmental disabilities at Children’s Hospital in Oakland, CA; funded by a grant from The California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA).

Oct. 13, 2011 — Storytellersforgood.com — October’s Story of the Month – Kidpower — Features Kidpower’s program. This article is their kickoff for the making of the One Million Safer Kids video showing Kidpower in action, interviews with kids and parents, and the story of how Kidpower began.

Sep. 11, 2011 — USAToday — More bullying cases have parents turning to courts — Article quotes Kidpower International founder and executive director, Irene van der  Zande about teaching adults and children skills for creating cultures of caring, respect and safety. Photo for this story shows a Kidpower workshop in progress.

Jan. 20, 2011 — WRAL.com (Channel 5) — Beyond stranger danger: How to talk to your kids — Go Ask Mom editor, Sarah Hall, writes about a talk she attended about Kidpower’s Stranger Safety strategies, given by Amy Tiemann,  director of Kidpower North Carolina.

Dec. 12, 2010 — Santa Cruz Sentinel — Workshop offered to help keep kids safe  Watsonville Police Department’s Police Activities League sponsors its 3rd annual Kidpower youth and family safety workshop – to be offered for free for 25 local families.

Nov. 7, 2010 — Santa Cruz Sentinel — Relationship Matters: How to Teach Your Children to Be Safe — This article by Offra Gerstein, a clinical psychologist, addresses some old tropes around teaching kids about safety and how certain common phrases or “lessons” can in fact be contradictory to actually keeping kids safe. Kidpower safety skills are recommended and several examples provided to support adults and parents with teaching effective safety skills to children.

Sep. 16, 2010 — ABC News Now: Parenting with Ann Pleshette Murphy — Counteracting Stranger Danger (8:11) — Ann Pleshette Murphy interviews Dr. Amy Tiemann, Center Director of Kidpower North Carolina, who explains many of the Kidpower concepts for teaching Stranger Safety instead of the misleading ‘stranger danger’ — and ways for parents to keep children safe.

Sep. 8, 2010 — All Things Fadra: Book Review — Who needs a parenting book (when you already know it all)? Fadra Nally, parenting blogger, reviews “Courages Parents, Confident Kids,” specifically discussing the chapter by Kidpower founder and executive director, Irene van der Zande on parenting strategies for increasing safety for children: “I loved Irene van der Zande’s approach to what she calls Kidpower. She doesn’t believe in sheltering our kids from the harsh realities. But she does believe in focusing on the positive. Forget Stranger Danger. Most strangers aren’t dangerous. Teach them Stranger Safety. Don’t wrap them in a world of fear. Wrap them in knowledge and empowerment.”

Nov. 15, 2009 — Santa Cruz Sentinel — Finding the Courage NOT to Fight  Article written by Irene van der Zande with a personal story illustrating the concept of “target denial” and how life saving it can be for young people, boys in particular, to learn how to walk away safely from a dangerous situation.

July 15, 2009 — Santa Cruz Sentinel — Kidpower celebrates two decades of teaching life skills — Kidpower Founder, Irene van der Zande is interviewed about the nonprofit’s 20-year anniversary.

Sep. 10, 2007 — Smith Micro Launches 7th Annual Charity Program Benefiting Children’s Charities — Smith Micro’s 7th Annual Charity Campaign “Kids First” will raise funds for KIDPOWER and Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Orange County and the Inland Empire. Release includes a quote from Irene van der Zande.

Jan. 24, 2002 — Chicago Tribune — Schools help kids learn to fight bullies, Pupils are taught self-defense, including martial arts, with educators’ blessing — Kidpower Chicago’s director, Joe Connelly, quoted in this article about incorporating martial arts skills and bullying prevention programs. (Mr. Connelly also runs Connelly’s Academy, teaching TaekwonDo and Hapkido.)

Sep. 2000 — Growing Up in Santa Cruz —  KIDPOWER: Up-Beat Lessons on Being Safe — A profile of Kidpower and its services.

Oct. 7, 1998 — Chicago Tribune — Violence Prevention Seminar Aims To Educate And Empower Youths — “When violence prevention expert Joe Connelly gets a phone call from a school about a child who has been killed, molested or emotionally abused, his initial thought is: “We could have done something to prevent this.” That’s part of the empowerment message Connelly delivered to an audience who attended his violence prevention workshop at the College of Lake County recently. Connelly, director of KidPower Great Lakes with 20 years experience in crime prevention, was one of several social and legal experts to speak at the fourth annual violence prevention forum sponsored by Lake County Unites for Violence Intervention and Prevention.”

Feb. 8 1998 — Chicago Tribune — Martial smarts: Students at Cooper Middle School — School uses a $1,000 grant it received from the employees of Skokie-based Fel-Pro Inc. to bring in Kidpower Chicago director, Joe Connelly to teach children how to build self-esteem and make responsible decisions. “The program will allow the children to feel safe while out and about in the community,” [Assistant School Principle Laura] Schwartz said.