Late in June, we finished the 35th year of delivering Child Assault Prevention (CAP) workshops in schools throughout Mercer County. Although the pandemic presented unique challenges as we took on the task of going all virtual, our prevention staff and students adapted quickly to this new normal.

Schools were eager to ensure that their students received the essential workshops. Administrators offered to put our information on their Google platform for the students to access, and they requested 'thinking/talking points' that they could offer students in advance.

"Despite the technical issues that arose, we were amazed with the resilience of the teachers and students to attend workshops and engage in discussions," said Prevention Director, Erika Hillman. In the Spring, we added an online version of our Elementary CAP workshop which was very well-received and offered a real morale boost. "Seeing the smiling faces all around on the monitors was revitalizing for everyone," added Erika.

During the workshops, we were able to support students who reached out to us about personal situations they needed assistance with; and students showed great creativity in getting messages to us on the virtual platforms. Google Classroom doesn't allow online chat, so one elementary student held up at sign that said, "I have something to tell you about this subject." She wanted to discuss inappropriate interaction with a stranger. We were able to connect her to resources right away to get the help she needed. 

We kept the focus on our mission's work...and thanks to our dedicated team, we provided workshops for over 5,000 children and teens making it a very successful 2020-21 school year. Way to go, Prevention team...you deserve the summer off!

Young Entrepreneur-Philanthropist Making a Difference

"Children benefit from having young leaders like Aishwarya Rao in our community."

There's a new entrepreneur in Mercer County who's dedicated to making a difference through philanthropy.

Rising WW-P high-school senior, Aishwarya "Aisha" Rao, launched a custom canvas-bag business this summer, ecoGreenTotes. She's donating 100% of her profits to charity and has selected PEI Kids as one of two charities who will receive her business' proceeds!

Over the years, Aishwarya has become a friend to the agency, donating toys and gifts collected at her school during the holidays to support the children in our programs. This past December, she made a major gift by forwarding all donations from her virtual holiday concert which raised over $4,000 for PEI Kids and brought us dozens of new donors!

Executive Director, Roz Dashiell explains, "Children benefit from having young leaders like Aishwarya in our community. Everyone wants to do well financially, but she shows that you can do well and do good at the same time." To learn more about ecoGreenTotes, visit the site at https://sites.google.com/view/ecogreentotes .

We all want to ensure that the early years of a child's life are happy and healthy. To support this goal, Baby Safety Day was introduced by the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) in 1983 and was increased to a week of celebration in 1986. By 1991, the weeklong celebration officially became a month. 

Every year, JPMA offers toolkits to manufacturers, retailers, doctors, and parents to help educate them on childhood safety -- giving us all an opportunity to brush up on our safety skills to protect our littlest treasures.

Visit the JPMA website to learn about the history of Baby Safety Month and to get baby safety tips on a range of activities -- from bath time and playtime to car-seat safety. You can also view their Baby Safety Month video (which is worth it just to see all the cute babies!).

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 Thank you!