Safe Shores - The DC Children's Advocacy Center

We’re pleased to announce Safe Shores’ newest board members for 2025, who both bring incredible skills and knowledge and are ready to help advance Safe Shores' mission. Please join us in welcoming: ?? Sunny Patel ?? Lindsay Nichols Sunny and Lindsay, we are delighted to have you on board (see what we did there?) and can't wait to work alongside you! You can learn more about Sunny and Lindsday here: https://lnkd.in/en6QzjPz We also have to send along a huge THANK YOU to our board member for her service. ?? Julie Wadler Julie, we are grateful for your dedicated service. You gave your invaluable time, energy, resources, and expertise and continuously showed up for kids! THANK YOU!

? It's that time of year again — Holiday Giving is here! ? Will you join us in making the holidays brighter for children in DC who have been impacted by abuse and violence? There are two ways you can get involved: ?? Make a monetary donation here: https://buff.ly/3CwC9DS ?? Sponsor a child’s wish list here: https://buff.ly/3YU6hlv We are planning to serve 250 children this year, but only 60 wish lists have been sponsored so far! You can sign up for a wish list or donate at the links above. Your support helps to create a warm and festive season for children and families in our community!

Yesterday, I had the privilege of reconnecting with two phenomenal women who are making transformative strides in challenging and repairing the brokenness of our world. My day started with a life-giving hug from Wendy Shaia, EdD, MSW, Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work and Executive Director of the Center for Restorative Change. Wendy is revolutionizing human services with her S.H.A.R.P. Framework. This approach reimagines how those working in direct service combat the dehumanizing effects of poverty and oppression in service delivery. She, along with her able colleagues Christopher Beegle and Stacey Wilson, facilitated an incredible day of learning for the staff at Safe Shores - The DC Children's Advocacy Center! My workday closed with a great “real talk” conversation with Rhonda Newton, CEO and Senior Director of Curriculum at Darkness to Light (D2L). This nonprofit leads the nation’s charge in preventing child sexual abuse. With its excellent, evidence-informed Stewards of Children training, D2L equips adults to recognize, prevent, and respond responsibly to abuse, focusing on awareness, education, and stigma reduction. It was a pleasure to welcome Rhonda to Safe Shores for her first visit to a child advocacy center! Wendy and Rhonda embody the joy, power, and generosity of Black women’s strategic servant leadership, advocating for the vulnerable, addressing systemic harms, and elevating human dignity — all while personally confronting racism and anti-Blackness in the non-profit industrial complex and remaining humble, kind, and relentless in their respective missions. I am deeply inspired by their work and graciousness and profoundly grateful for their impact on the world! #Leadership #HumanServices #NonProfits #SocialWork #PreventionWorks #CSA #HowAreTheChildren #SystemicChange #ListenToBlackWomen #AntiRacist #AntiOppression #ARAO #ServantLeadingWhileBlack

Safe Shores knows from 29 years of service that it takes a team to end child abuse. The District of Columbia’s Multidisciplinary Team on Child Abuse Investigations (MDT) works tirelessly to respond to allegations of child abuse. Safe Shores is honored to work with the dedicated individuals who know that what happens during childhood lasts a lifetime and that it’s adults who are responsible for keeping children safe. THANK YOU to all of our MDT Partner Agencies – DC Metropolitan Police Department, DC Child and Family Services Agency, Office of the Attorney General, United States Attorneys' Offices, and Children's National Hospital – who work with Safe Shores and collectively epitomize what it means to Build a Hopeful Future for Children, Together! We appreciate DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s proclamation of April 2024 as “DC MDT Recognition and Appreciation Month.” As the coordinator of DC’s MDT, Safe Shores sees the dedication and commitment of our partners in action every day! As Child Abuse Prevention Month 2024 comes to a close, it’s one more opportunity to remind adults that PROTECTING KIDS IS EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS. That means listening to children, believing children, and helping ensure each and every child is safe, seen, heard, cherished, and able to THRIVE! On May 1, Safe Shores work continues.?#ProtectKids365

There are a few short days left of #ChildAbusePreventionMonth but there are still incredibly impactful ways to get involved and help build a hopeful future for children! ?? For a sweet way to support Safe Shores, purchase a community cookie box from 20+ incredible bakers from all around the DC area! Boxes are still available but selling fast - purchase them here: https://lnkd.in/esNR_tX7 ??Then, be sure to join us next week on April 29th for a joint presentation with National Center for Missing & Exploited Children about internet safety for parents, caregivers and community members. This presentation (offered in both English and Spanish) will provide guidance on how to best keep children safe online, including how to best have age-appropriate conversations about internet safety, how to teach prevention skills to children, and more. Register for this presentation below. For English: https://lnkd.in/e2Nvm4iW For Spanish: https://lnkd.in/eDKf234J The end of April is only a date on a calendar - child abuse prevention work must continue every month, 365 days a year. Go to safeshores.org to see all of our upcoming events and tours, this month and beyond! #childabusepreventionmonth #ProtectKids365

Even after we hit our goal and secured the matching gift, donations for our inaugural #ChildAbusePreventionMonth #GivingDay kept coming in, and as of our last count, the amount raised was $12,115! We are so heartened by this community's willingness to come together to care for and protect children. Thank you to everyone who donated and spread the word! ??

We're building a hopeful future for children - together! Thank you to everyone who donated to help make our inaugural Giving Day a success. ?? All together, between one-time, monthly, and matching gifts, we have raised $10,029.29 to support Safe Shores' child abuse prevention efforts! The day is still young - and while #ChildAbusePreventionMonth is coming to a close, the work continues year-round. If you can, please consider establishing a monthly LifeSavers gift in support of our work to prevent child abuse and provide intervention, hope and healing to child victims. Set up your gift here: www.safeshores.org/donate

We're nearly halfway to our Giving Day goal! Give today to help build a hopeful future for children. ?? Give at safeshores.org/donate When you give today, your gift will be doubled thanks to an anonymous donor who has agreed to match #ChildAbusePreventionMonth #GivingDay gifts up to $5000!

Every day is a day to make a difference, and Child Abuse Prevention Month must be every month. Recently an excited father-to-be attended a child abuse prevention training at Safe Shores – because he wants to be the best protector for his son. ?? We provide these trainings for free year-round so that parents and caregivers, childcare workers, and people who simply care about kids can equip themselves with the knowledge they need to keep kids safe. You can help ensure that cost is never a barrier to learning how to keep kids safe by making a donation today! Visit safeshores.org/donate for ways to give – and consider making your gift monthly to help #ProtectKids365. #childabusepreventionmonth #givingday