Workplace Options’ (WPO) generous $25,000 gift to Kidpower International helped bring together 80 of the organization’s deeply dedicated volunteers, instructors, board, and staff from 15 countries for Kidpower’s 35-year anniversary conference and special training programs. These three in-person learning events were held in Central California for 12 days during April and May 2024.
By having hands-on opportunities to learn from the most experienced trainers, the very diverse participants greatly increased their capacity to prevent trauma and protect lives through teaching personal and psychological safety skills in ways that are effective, empowering, inclusive, and FUN!
WPO’s donation made it possible to cover travel costs, food, and lodging so that all those who needed financial support were able to join the event. Each of these participants has demonstrated a long-term commitment to bringing Kidpower services to their communities, especially for those who are facing difficult challenges such as poverty, disabilities, and prejudice.
As a result of WPO’s support, thousands more children, women, and other vulnerable people from around the world are gaining Kidpower safety skills training that prepares them to protect themselves and their loved ones from bullying, abuse, and exploitation and how to develop safe and strong relationships that enrich their lives.
Kidpower International team attend the organization’s 35-year anniversary conference in California.
What Happened At the Conference and Special Trainings
Kidpower truly lived up to the “International” in the name with people joining from Argentina, Canada, Ecuador, Germany, Guatemala, Iran, New Zealand, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Sweden, and, in the US, from California, Colorado, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia.
The first event was the Kidpower Skills Training in Santa Cruz, which gave participants three very full days of practice teaching over 120 children and youth and their adults.
Kidpower’s Español instructors from Argentina, Ecuador, and Guatemala practiced leading workshops in Spanish for the children from farmworker families at a local public school and for mothers and children at a shelter.
The second event was Kidpower International’s 35-Year Anniversary Conference, with the theme of Empowering the World with Safety Skills. This was an incredible time of growing connections and sharing ideas between the very talented people in the community.
During the conference, all Kidpower staff members and expert presenters donated their time. Workshops with hands-on practices included:
- Creating Inclusive, Welcoming Cultures
- Living Our Values and Turning Hopes Into Goals
- Skills for Conflict Resolution
- Pridepower Safety Skills and Resources by and for the LGBTQIA+ Community
- Sustainability through Fundraising and Community Support
- Workplace Safety and Violence Prevention Through Positive Interventions and De-Escalation
- The Three Pillars of Transformational Self-Care
- Practices for Taking Charge of Your Mental and Physical Health
The 3rd event was in Albany, California, for four days of training including:
- Workshops for 65 adults and teens with disabilities from the Orientation Center for the Blind and from a special education transitional program.
- Child Protection Advocacy workshops for parents, educators, and other caring adults on how to protect young people in their care from bullying, abuse, and abduction and prepare them to take charge of their own safety.
- Emotional and Personal Safety Skills for adults, including survivors of abuse and violence
- Workplace Safety and Positive Communication Skills
- Verbal and Physical Self-Defense Skills.
The long-term impact of WPO’s support
Here are three of many stories showing how participants are using the knowledge and skills they gained.
Kidpower’s Nepal Center Director, Shusma Pokhrel, went home determined to bring Kidpower skills to those most in need on a much larger scale than ever before. She said, “Children in rural areas face big risks of being assaulted on their way to and from schools. We traveled for 14 hours each way over very muddy dirt roads to teach safety and self-defense skills to over 1,000 students and their teachers in 8 remote parts of Nepal. Our goal now is to provide 50 Trainings of Practitioners so that over 15,000 children, teens, and vulnerable adults can learn how to stay safe.”
According to Shandana Shiekh, who has recently started Kidpower Pakistan, “Ever since I came back, I feel more connected, accomplished, and confident about my ability to teach. I’ve now trained over 200 children in orphanages along with their staff and another 100 children who are blind, as well as a group of young women in college who were feeling scared because there had been an assault on their campus. I am excited to do much, much more.”
Another of one of the participants said, “Getting in-person training gave me the confidence and knowledge I need to provide successful trainings in ways that are very upbeat despite our difficult situation. I am leading online workshops teaching sexual assault prevention skills to people in organizations throughout our country serving over 10,000 survivors of domestic violence. After a series of tragic kidnappings, I am also leading Kidpower workshops teaching hundreds of parents and their children how to prevent and escape from an attack.”
Kidpower International is providing ongoing online trainings and technical support for all of Kidpower’s center directors and international instructors in how to organize and teach services, adapt our curriculum for cultural differences, raise money, and create long-term partnerships with schools, organizations, and businesses in their countries.
The WPO – Kidpower International Partnership – Empowering the Future
Kidpower International is honored to be one of WPO’s nonprofit partners for the 2024 Empowering the Future impact theme and look forward to continuing the partnership in 2025.
The partnership provides amazing opportunities to share Kidpower’s 35 years of expertise in providing personal and psychological safety skills, education training, and resources through WPO’s member center pages. Kidpower is excited to have people benefit thanks to the collaboration with WPO’s talented team on blog posts, podcasts, and webinars. Below are additional links to content around safety completed in collaboration between Kidpower and WPO.
Those hoping to get involved with Kidpower can check out the organization’s various volunteer opportunities here.
About Workplace Options (WPO)
Founded in 1982, Workplace Options (WPO) is the largest independent provider of holistic wellbeing solutions. Through customized programs, and a comprehensive global network of credentialed providers and professionals, WPO supports individuals to become healthier, happier, and more productive both personally and professionally. Trusted by 56 percent of Fortune 500 companies, WPO delivers high-quality care digitally and in-person to more than 79 million people across 116,000 organizations in more than 200 countries and territories.
About Kidpower International
Kidpower International is the global nonprofit leader for personal safety skills education for all ages and abilities. Since 1989, we have served millions of adults, teens, and children worldwide through our online and in-person workshops, educational resources, and partnerships. Kidpower skills prevent bullying, violence, and abuse; strengthen relationships; improve communication; and save lives. Kidpower has an outstanding track record of preparing people to take charge of their wellbeing; to protect their loved ones; and to create cultures of safety and respect in their families, workplaces, schools, and communities. Our programs are hands-on, positive, strengths-based, trauma-informed, culturally relevant, and FUN! To learn more, visit kidpower.org or contact safety@kidpower.org.
