The SAY Joins the Five Days of Action to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse

SUMMIT, NJ – The Summit Area YMCA (SAY) is participating in the Five Days of Action, April 18-22, 2022. The Five Days of Action is a weeklong campaign to raise awareness and inspire adults to take action to protect children from sexual abuse. The week will include raising awareness to prevent child abuse, ways to keep your child and other safe, how to report abuse, protecting children from online dangers, and training for staff and community members to increase adult education, and more. 

The SAY encourages adults and organizations to join in marking this week to make the community a safer place for children to live, learn, and grow. With summer right around the corner—when children gather for activities and camps, it is a wonderful time to bring attention to the simple ways we can all make the children in our community safer. 

During  Five Days of Action, the Y will be engaging these critical steps of prevention, KNOW. SEE. RESPOND. that will help adults better protect children. When adults know how abuse happens, see the warning signs, and respond quickly to prevent abuse, they foster a culture of child abuse prevention. Together, we can bring awareness to the issue of child sexual abuse in our communities and have important conversations about how we can all work together to prevent it from happening.

“The children of the Summit area have the right to a happy and safe childhood, and it's our responsibility as adults and organizations to stand up to protect that right,” said Tiffany Escott, Mission Development & Advancement Director of the Summit Area YMCA. “By joining in the Five Days of Action’s KNOW. SEE. RESPOND. campaign, we hope to inspire other organizations and members of our community to create safe spaces that protect children from sexual abuse.”

The YMCA has partnered with Darkness to Light to bring child abuse awareness and prevention to our communities. At the Summit Area YMCA, we stand committed to providing a safe environment for everyone who enters our doors or participates in our programs, most importantly the safety and well-being of children entrusted to our care. We have a series of measures in place to keep kids safe. Through training sessions, community resources, and workshops, the Y educates adults on how to recognize, prevent, and react responsibly to the reality of child sexual abuse, emphasizing child safety and prevention is every adult’s responsibility. If you would like to learn more about the SAY's efforts, in addition to resources and trainings, in regards to child abuse awareness and prevention, please visit www.thesay.org/child-sexual-abuse-prevention.

The Summit Area YMCA, with support from the YMCA Champions for Child Protection, YMCA of the USA, Darkness to Light, Redwoods Group Foundation, Monique Burr Foundation for Children, and American Camp Association, have made materials available to help adults learn more about preventing child sexual abuse.

For more information about preventing child sexual abuse, visit www.fivedaysofaction.org. Materials are derived from YMCA of the USA’s “Know. See. Respond.” copyrighted in 2020.

CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE STATISTICS - PROVIDED BY DARKNESS TO LIGHT

• One in ten children will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday.
• 90% of child sexual abuse victims know their abuser.
• Approximately 30% of children who are sexually abused are abused by family members.
• 60% of child sexual abuse victims never tell anyone.
• False reports are rare. Research shows that only 4 to 8% of child sexual abuse reports are fabricated.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU BELIEVE A CHILD IS BEING ABUSED - PROVIDED BY DARKNESS TO LIGHT
• You do not need to have proof that abuse is occurring to make a report, only reasonable suspicion. Reasonable suspicion means that you have witnessed maltreatment or boundary violations, either in the child or adult, or both. Or, you have received a disclosure from a child about abuse, neglect, or boundary violations towards them.
• Child sexual abuse reports should be made to the police and/or state child protective services.
• Contact the Darkness to Light Helpline at 866-FOR-LIGHT or text LIGHT to 741741 to have questions answered by trained counselors at no charge.

Upcoming Training(s):

Darkness to Light: Child Abuse Prevention Training

Date: April 21
Time: 6:30-8:30 PM
Location: Berkeley Heights YMCA, Berkeley Room

REGISTER

About Darkness to Light
Darkness to Light is a nonprofit organization with the mission to empower adults to prevent child sexual abuse through awareness, education, and stigma reduction. Darkness to Light’s flagship program, Stewards of Children®, is an evidence-informed, award-winning training that teaches adults to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. More than 1.9 million adults have been trained using Darkness to Light trainings. For more information, visit www.D2L.org.

About Redwoods Group Foundation
The Redwoods Group Foundation supports programs that can change the world and helps them reach more people than ever before, through funding and backbone support. We currently focus on child sexual abuse prevention, drowning prevention, and growing the field of social entrepreneurship. For more information, visit www.redwoodsgroup.com.

About the Monique Burr Foundation for Children
The Monique Burr Foundation for Children (MBF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting children by providing the best comprehensive, evidence-based prevention education programs. MBF prevention programs educate and empower children and relevant adults with information and strategies to prevent, recognize, and respond appropriately to the four types of child abuse (physical, emotional, sexual, and neglect), exploitation, bullying, cyberbullying, human trafficking, digital abuse, and other digital dangers. MBF is now a leader in prevention education with our programs having reached over 4.5 million children throughout Florida and the United States. For more information, visit www.mbfpreventioneducation.org.

About American Camp Association
The American Camp Association® (ACA) is a national organization serving the more than 15,000 year-round and summer camps in the US who annually serve 26 million campers. ACA is committed to collaborating with those who believe in quality camp and outdoor experiences for children, youth, and adults. ACA provides advocacy, evidence-based education, and professional development, and is the only independent national accrediting body for the organized camp experience. ACA Accreditation provides public evidence of a camp's voluntary commitment to the health, safety, risk management, and overall well-being of campers and staff. For more information, visit www.ACAcamps.org or call 800-428-2267.

SUMMIT AREA YMCA

BERKELEY HEIGHTS YMCA | SUMMIT YMCA | THE LEARNING CIRCLE YMCA

In 1886, we were founded as the Young Men's Christian Association, but today, we are The Y. An association that values, and is made stronger by, its diverse people. We stand for youth development, healthy living and social responsibility — For a better us. We are committed to creating equal opportunity for all regardless of gender, age, disability, income, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religious affiliation. We strive to create a welcoming and inclusive culture in which our four core values — responsibility, honesty, caring and respect — are integral to everyday operations.

Each year, as one of the area’s leading 501(c)3 charitable organizations, the Summit Area YMCA serves more than 15,000 individuals with our free and fee-based programs and services in an area spanning the New Jersey communities of Berkeley Heights, Gillette, Millburn, New Providence, Short Hills, Springfield, Stirling and Summit. Our history is rooted in working side-by-side with our neighbors to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive. Through the generosity of our members, donors, and partners, we are able to offer financial assistance for our programs and services to those in need.