SIDNEY – The Sidney-Shelby County YMCA is participating in the Five Days of Action, April 18-22, 2022. The Five Days of Action is a weeklong campaign to raise awareness and inspire adults to take action to protect children from sexual abuse.
The Y encourages adults and organizations to join in marking this special week as we come together to make the community a safer place for children to live, learn, and play. With summer right around the corner—when children gather for activities and camps, it is a wonderful time to bring attention to the simple ways we can all make the children in our community safer.
During the Five Days of Action, the Sidney-Shelby County YMCA will be engaging these critical steps of prevention, KNOW. SEE. RESPOND. that will help adults better protect children. When adults know how abuse happens, see the warning signs, and respond quickly to prevent abuse, they foster a culture of child abuse prevention. Together, we can bring awareness to the issue of child sexual abuse in our communities and have important conversations about how we can all work together to prevent it from happening.
“The children in Sidney and Shelby County have the right to a happy and safe childhood, and it’s our responsibility as adults and organizations to stand up to protect that right,” said David O’Leary, CEO. “By joining in the Five Days of Action’s KNOW. SEE. RESPOND. campaign, we hope to inspire other organizations and members of our community to create safe spaces that protect children from sexual abuse.”
The Sidney-Shelby County YMCA, with support from the YMCA Champions for Child Protection, YMCA of the USA, Darkness to Light, Redwoods Group Foundation, Monique Burr Foundation for Children, and American Camp Association, have made materials available to help adults learn more about preventing child sexual abuse.
For more information about preventing child sexual abuse, visit www.fivedaysofaction.org.
Materials are derived from YMCA of the USA’s “Know. See. Respond.” copyrighted in 2020.
About Darkness to Light
Darkness to Light is a nonprofit organization with the mission to empower adults to prevent child sexual abuse through awareness, education, and stigma reduction. Darkness to Light’s flagship program, Stewards of Children®, is an evidence-informed, award-winning training that teaches adults to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. More than 1.9 million adults have been trained using Darkness to Light trainings. For more information, visit www.D2L.org.
About Redwoods Group Foundation
The Redwoods Group Foundation supports programs that can change the world and helps them reach more people than ever before, through funding and backbone support. We currently focus on child sexual abuse prevention, drowning prevention, and growing the field of social entrepreneurship. For more information, visit www.redwoodsgroup.com.
About the Monique Burr Foundation for Children
The Monique Burr Foundation for Children (MBF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting children by providing the best comprehensive, evidence-based prevention education programs. MBF prevention programs educate and empower children and relevant adults with information and strategies to prevent, recognize, and respond appropriately to the four types of child abuse (physical, emotional, sexual, and neglect), exploitation, bullying, cyberbullying, human trafficking, digital abuse, and other digital dangers. MBF is now a leader in prevention education with our programs having reached over 4.5 million children throughout Florida and the United States. For more information, visit www.mbfpreventioneducation.org.
About American Camp Association
The American Camp Association (ACA) is a national organization serving the more than 15,000 year-round and summer camps in the US who annually serve 26 million campers. ACA is committed to collaborating with those who believe in quality camp and outdoor experiences for children, youth, and adults. ACA provides advocacy, evidence-based education, and professional development, and is the only independent national accrediting body for the organized camp experience. ACA Accreditation provides public evidence of a camp’s voluntary commitment to the health, safety, risk management, and overall well-being of campers and staff. For more information, visit www.ACAcamps.org or call 800-428-2267.
About the Y
The Y is one of the nation’s leading nonprofits strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Across the U.S., 2,700 Ys engage 21 million men, women and children – regardless of age, income or background – to nurture the potential of children and teens, improve the nation’s health and well-being, and provide opportunities to give back and support neighbors. Anchored in more than 10,000 communities, the Y has the long-standing relationships and physical presence not just to promise, but to deliver, lasting personal and social change. ymca.net
