Your gift will be matched by our Leadership Circle though December 31!
Kidpower skills don’t just help people be safe – they help make life better!
Linda Brooks, who is blind and serves on our Workpower Advisory Council, says this about how Kidpower skills have improved her everyday experiences in her community:
These skills gave me some of my life back!
– Linda Brooks, Workpower Advisory Council member
I have been losing my vision for years. Now that I use a cane, strangers give me a LOT of unwanted attention.
“Often, they grab, push, and try to move or steer me without talking to me. People yell directions and offer unwanted help in ways that feel intrusive.
“Before I took Kidpower’s Safetypowers program, I felt so much anger and resentment in these situations, even when I knew people really didn’t mean harm. My reactions would make things even worse. A small incident could leave me feeling angry and upset for days.
“Now, with Kidpower skills, all these things still happen – but, I respond differently! I speak up calmly and confidently in the moment, and I persist until they listen. I’m prepared to manage my triggers so I don’t say rude things myself! Most importantly, I use my Emotional Safety Screen to protect my feelings.
“Thanks to my training, unpleasant experiences like these no longer steal my joy. It’s like Safetypowers gave me some of my life back!”
Please donate today! The power of your gift will help to transform lives for people like Linda.
Whether it’s a child whose skills help them be happier at school, a teen who decides to keep playing a sport they love because they now have skills to deal with difficult team members, or a senior who decides to keep going out because they feel confident they can protect themselves, these skills help people have safer, happier lives.
The power of your gift will help make it possible to bring these skills to thousands more people in need.
Published: November 25, 2025 | Last Updated: November 25, 2025
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.