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As it states in the Articles of Incorporation … "
This corporation is a nonprofit public benefit corporation organized
for the specific purposes of improving the standards, practices and
effectiveness of, and promoting child and family safety, as well as
other related public welfare topics through various training, literature
and educational formats."
In March of 1998 Susan Rogers created a three-year child safety ID kit
called Kid Prints. This evolved from a series of events spanning 28
years. In 1970 Susan Rogers' (a single parent at that time) babysitter's
husband molested her seven-year-old daughter. The babysitter didn't
tell Mrs. Rogers that her husband was a convicted pedophile. Then in
1975, a stranger who invaded her home, raped Mrs. Rogers. Her two young
daughters were asleep in the other room and she lived in terror that
they might be harmed. Fortunately that did not happen. In 1988 her fifteen-year-old
son ran away while in the custody of his father (her x-husband) and
was missing for two weeks before he was found and returned home. These
and other non-family related events helped to form the idea, motivation
and passion that still drives S.A.F.E Network, Inc.
Don Rogers, the Fund Raising Chairman of this organization thought it
was a great idea and proceeded with various field studies. Subsequent
improvements on the kit added fingerprint ink strips, and laminating
pouches for the ID cards, an immunization record, and a DNA pouch. The
Kid Tips 101 added in the back were tips acquired from police agencies
so that the information was correct. Gradually the kit went from a 16
page 3 year or 5 year kit, to a 32 page 4 year kit, completely self
contained.
It became apparent that being a non-profit would be the best way to
support the corporation's mission. So, S.A.F.E. NETWORK, INC. (Safety
Awareness and Family Education Network, Inc.) became a California non-profit
corporation, and then a federally recognized 501(c)3.
With over 25 years of business management and community service experience,
the Rogers set out to create a program that would serve the needs of
all families, caregivers and children from birth through age 18, regardless
of where they lived; and to serve them in ways that were not duplicating
services already in place. A Board of Directors and advisory committee
were formed with other individuals who felt the same dedication to this
work that the Rogers did. The Board meets periodically to define and
redefine programs to offer. Events such as the highly successful S.A.F.E.
Kids Day held in June, 1999 promoting the ideas and programs of the
organization have become a norm. With the use of the three websites
currently online, communities, police departments, school districts,
and hospitals, community based groups like the YMCA, and now the various
Army Family Advocacy Programs are working around the country to educate
children and their families on how to recognize inappropriate behavior
by adults and older kids..(Kid Tips 101) http://www.kidprints.com; (Safety
Awareness and Family Education Network), http://www.safenetwork.org;
and in January of 2003 The Teen Scene our teen website http://www.teen-scene.org
being launchedare the internet forums used to further this work.
Since its inception, over 45,000 child safety kits have been distributed
through schools, radio stations, youth groups, businesses, community
events, and on-line orders with child safety programs and id kits now
serving over 25 states. The programs are working, parents are learning
ways to better protect their children in a more direct approach that
any others they have had access to, and children are being empowered
with the ability to know how and when to say no to improper advances
by predators.
Now with the latest addition of the Personal Safety Training curriculum
developed to teach children and teen-agers these vital skills and abuse
prevention techniques on an on-going and repetitive basis, the mission
of preventing sexual abuse, exploitation and abduction is reaching a
new plateau.
Knowledge is power. Building an organized community effort, the power
is removed from the hands of the predator and placed back into the hands
society. The founders of this corporation are dedicated to lowering
the statistics that
1 out of every 3 girls and 1 out of every 6 boys will be sexually
assaulted by the age of 18. |