Dear Kidpower Friends & Supporters,

What a year it’s been for us all!

At Kidpower, we began a typical year happily providing in-person community and school-based workshops teaching kids and families how to stay safe and advocate for themselves and others.

Sara Sugerman, Board President

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Many in our communities transitioned to working and learning from home, unemployment soared, and adults were three times more likely to experience mental health concerns than in prior years. Additionally, we faced a cultural reckoning around racial injustice and discrimination amidst a divisive political and ideological environment.

At Kidpower, we worried about the safety of children. We knew what the data later confirmed: the pandemic created conditions for a rise in abuse and violence, and reduced children’s ability to get help from teachers, coaches, and other school and after-school personnel. We worried about mental health challenges for isolated young people, because depression, loneliness, and anxiety were already at unacceptable levels among our young people before the stress of the pandemic.

So we did what we do best: we moved into action to address our worries. We found inspiration and hope in our staff, board, volunteers, and supporters. We dug deep, and asked what we can do to give kids and families what they needed to empower them to take charge of their safety, their relationships, and their lives during this challenging time. Together, we were determined to protect young people; prevent abuse, bullying, and other harm; and empower kids and their caregivers to have healthier and happier lives.

To accomplish this during stay-at-home orders, Kidpower developed new ways to engage with children and parents. We launched our “Kidpower Safety Snippets” that offer core safety concepts in a short format to minimize “screen fatigue.” With more than 10,000 views in four months, this demonstrated that keeping kids safe is especially important to caregivers and teachers in these uncertain times. We also increased our focus on emotional safety skills in articles, and through social media.

Jan Isaacs Henry, Co-founder and Executive Director

After the success of the “snippets,” and in consultation with public health officials, we designed smaller, outdoor, safely-distanced, in-person classes. When this was no longer possible, we moved our longer format classes to multiple segments on a virtual platform. Through all of this, we learned we can offer high-quality, creative, fun, interactive training online. This allows Kidpower to greatly expand our reach: we can train kids who may have not previously participated due to geographical or other limitations. Most importantly, online programming ensures more children are getting the skills they need in a crucial time. 

We are tremendously grateful to all of you who have helped us, through your donations, volunteering, encouragement, feedback, and use of our resources.

We remain firmly committed to making our services available to kids and families in the best way possible, and we could not do it without your support.

Wishing you and your loved ones health and safety,

Sara Sugerman and Jan Isaacs Henry