National Exchange Club Program

National Exchange Clubs, already focused on serving the community and committed to the prevention of child abuse, are an ideal partner to further the movement to end CSA.  We are proud to call the National Exchange Club a partner and look forward to working with Exchangites all over the country!

Prevention begins by creating awareness of the prevalence and impact CSA has on a community. The critical next step is to educate adults how to prevent it from happening. Stewards of Children is D2L's prevention and response training program and is typically taught to staff and volunteers of organizations that serve youth, such as schools, faith centers, and sports programs, as well as parents and caregivers. Evidence proves that our children are better protected when the adults in their lives know how to prevent CSA, how to recognize the signs, and how to respond appropriately if abuse is disclosed.

Read about the partnership in the Spring 2012 issue of Exchange Today

D2L is proud of the collaboration with National Exchange Club and offers the following ideas for how your club can help increase awareness and education in your own communities. 

Step 1: Discovery

Determine if anyone in your community is providing D2L’s child sexual abuse programs. You can check our directory of authorized providers (we call them Facilitators) as a starting point. If your community has a Facilitator, find out what kind of progress has been made in the area of prevention. These questions may help you consider your potential role in a community initiative.

• How many people have been trained in the community?
• Is there an organization that plays a lead role in the effort? Is there a community coalition for child sexual abuse prevention?
• Is there a full time person dedicated to prevention?
• What organizations in the community have been trained?
• What are the goals of the prevention initiative?
• How is the initiative funded?
• If more funds were available, what would they be able to do?

Step 2: Take the Training

Stewards of Children is taught in a group setting by D2L Authorized Facilitators and is also available online for individual use.

• If there is a Facilitator in your community, you could attend a local training session being offered. You can view a list of upcoming sessions being held in your community by choosing your state from the map here. Or, you could talk to a Facilitator about scheduling a training session for the club. Invite community members or directors of local youth serving organizations to review the program with you. (The Facilitator may charge a fee to facilitate the session or may charge a per person fee to cover the cost of materials.)
• Take the Stewards of Children ONLINE training if that is more convenient for you. It takes approximately 2.5 hours to complete (but you don't have to complete it all at once) and costs $10.

Step 3: Determine How the Club Can Promote Prevention Training

Provide a Facilitator

Having a Facilitator in your community is one of the first steps in a prevention effort.

Have a Club Member Trained as a Facilitator

To become a Facilitator, one must complete the one-day train-the-trainer workshop conducted by D2L. Workshops are held regularly in various cities around the country. Experience is not required, but a Facilitator does need to be comfortable speaking in front of a group. The cost to attend a Facilitator Workshop is $350 plus any necessary travel expenses. Click here to review additional information about becoming a facilitator.

Provide a Scholarship for Facilitator Training

Identify a youth serving organization in your community interested in prevention and fund the workshop fee and travel expenses for an employee(s) to be trained as a Facilitator.

Partner in Prevention Distinction

Encourage organizations to qualify for the D2L Partner in Prevention distinction. This distinction requires training of staff and volunteers, implementation of a child protection policy, and background screening of staff and volunteers. A "window cling" with the Partner in Prevention emblem is provided for organizations to display at their place of business. (Similar to Better Business Bureau, Five Star, Zagat’s, etc.) Your club could create a campaign to encourage youth serving organizations to qualify and also to make parents aware of this distinction as they evaluate places/programs for their children.

Attend Prevent Now!

Send a club member or a Facilitator to a D2L Prevent Now! Workshop. This workshop teaches people how to create a strategy for a community prevention initiative, conduct community awareness meetings, build a coalition, and funding strategies. Ideally an organization has committed a full time Prevention Specialist and is willing to take a lead role to drive a community initiative. There is nominal fee of $100 to attend a Prevent Now! Workshop. The attendee is responsible for their travel expense. Learn more about Prevent Now! here.

Fundraise

Your club can help drive prevention in your community by providing or raising funds.

Funder’s Strategy

If your club currently awards grants to youth serving organizations, consider implementing a Funder’s Strategy which requires that in order for a youth serving organization to qualify/receive grant funds from your club, they must commit to training the staff and volunteers who work with youth in Stewards of Children.

Fund a Prevention Specialist

There may be an organization in your community, a Child Advocacy Center for example, that would like to organize a prevention initiative but does not have the funds to dedicate a staff person either full or part time to the effort.

Fund Scholarships

Create a fund for a specific audience or demographic to be trained. For example, provide funding to train the staff at an after school program or the teachers of a particular school. The cost of training varies depending on a number of factors but typically is $10 – $25 per person.

Create Awareness/Get People Involved

Help create awareness about the issue in your community – once people understand the problem they are more inspired to be part of the solution.

Distribute Brochures

Work with Darkness to Light to co-brand a brochure about prevention and distribute brochures to parents, youth serving organizations, pediatricians, churches, etc.

Secure Time for Public Service Announcements/Ads

D2L has broadcast quality public service announcements and print advertisements. The PSA’s/Ads are intended to raise awareness about the issue of child sexual abuse and inspire people to take action – get trained.

Join an Existing Coalition

If a prevention initiative is underway in your community and a coalition exists, volunteer a club member(s) to hold a seat on the coalition.