Spring Into Safety can keep your kids safe
Keeping children and teens safe is of the utmost importance.
Beyond the cliché "Don't talk to strangers," today's families would benefit from a refresher course.
Spring Into Safety will help receptive parents teach their children and teens how to make wise choices, develop a natural instinct and gain practical skills to ward off potential threats.
The worthwhile free, public event is open from 4 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, April 16, at Lisle High School, 1800 Short St., Lisle.
If you have attended the program in the past, remember repetition is a key ingredient in how children learn. As they grow, different facets of the message will be put to memory.
Teens, in particular, will want to hear Angela Rose speak in her first Lisle appearance.
Rose is founder, executive director and national spokeswoman of PAVE, Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment. She believes the answer to shattering the silence of sexual violence is to work with students, parents, teachers and the community. Since 2001, her grassroots, nonprofit organization uses education and action to spread its message.
Rose has appeared on CNN and the "Today" show, as well as in TIME magazine and many newspapers. Next month, she will participate in the Global Women's Leadership Conference Summit in Santiago, Chile.
An advocate for violence prevention, Rose survived her own abduction and sexual assault. She was one of many teens shopping and working at Woodfield Mall in 1996. As she walked to her car in the parking lot, a fast approaching stranger grabbed her from behind and put a knife to her throat. The bright sunny afternoon turned into a nightmare for the 17-year-old.
Later, when she learned that the perpetrator was a repeat sex offender on parole for murder, she knew she could not be silent.
Her experience reporting the crime and its aftermath led Rose to spearhead efforts in Illinois that brought about Illinois' Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act that puts away repeat offenders for life.
Rose also started a men's activist group called Men Making a Difference.
PAVE's first Awards Benefit Banquet will be May 30 in Addison. Details are at pavingtheway.net and angelaroseinfo.com. For tech-savvy youth, Rose's Twitter name is angelarosepave.
"It is important to engage teens and parents with these issues," Rose said. "It is a community issue that affects both men and women. We must give victims a voice."
Rose targets 12- to 18-year-olds and parents in her presentation.
"The problem is so huge and silence allows it to continue," Rose said. "Sexual assault is the most underreported crime."
One message Rose hopes everyone heeds is to "be aware of your surroundings at all times."
Rose's presentation at Spring Into Safety is for ages 12 and older with an adult at 7 p.m. in the school's auditorium.
Spring Into Safety speaker Craig Akers will share his perspective as a kidnapped child's parent. As an advocate and national speaker, Akers began The Shawn Hornbeck Foundation following his 13-year-old son's abduction in 2002 near their Missouri home. The story made international news when the boy was miraculously found after four years in captivity.
Akers was instrumental in helping Lisle resident Autumn Geist-Lombardo establish Spring Into Safety six years ago.
"Every parent and child should take advantage of this opportunity to learn first hand how abduction occurs and how to avoid them," Geist-Lombardo said.
For information on Akers' organization, visit shawnhornbeckfoundation.org.
Keeping kids and teens safe is an ongoing job for parents. Escape School presentations will run from 4 to 6 p.m. in the high school gymnasium. The workshop targets children as young as 4, as well as older children and adults.
Escape School is a hands-on prevention program that empowers children to recognize, avoid and escape potentially dangerous situations. It also empowers children and parents to practice basic hands-on skills, build confidence and recognize dangerous situations.
Featured on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Good Morning America" and "America's Most Wanted," the kid-friendly approach is an abduction prevention program.
What do you do if approached by an adult with a cute lost puppy? What should you do if someone stops you while riding your bike to ask directions? Do you practice screaming as loud as you can?
Escape School was designed by a police officer to be a catalyst for home-based instruction. Parents are encouraged to attend the hourlong presentation with their children and to reinforce the skills, which apply to all ages, at home. Open the dialogue, then listen to what your child has to tell you.
For additional information, check out www.escapeschool.com.
All area day care, elementary, middle and high school students should have received fliers at school about Spring Into Safety. The DuPage County Sheriff's Department will fingerprint and dispense DNA kits to those who want them. Lisle Police Department will have information on its RAD kids program. The Shawn Hornbeck Foundation will have its Kids Kardz identification information.
Information on safe Internet practices and self-defense martial arts opportunities will be available at resource tables. For details, visit springintosafety.org.
Organizers have even thought to sell pizza for busy families in a time crunch. And they hope everyone who attends hears their message:
Safety rules.
• E-mail Joan Broz at jgbroz@yahoo.com.
<p class="factboxheadblack">Spring Into Safety</p> <p class="News"><b>When:</b> 4-8:30 p.m. Thursday, April 16</p> <p class="News"><b>Where:</b> Lisle High School, 1800 Short St.</p> <p class="News"><b>Cost:</b> Free</p> <p class="News"><b>Details:</b> National speakers discuss abduction prevention and other safety issues</p> <p class="News"><b>Info:</b> <a href="http://www.springintosafety.org" target="new">springintosafety.org</a></p>