February 23, 2007

The Children's Advocacy Center of Catawba County in collaboration with Catawba County Department of Social Services, Rape Crisis Center and Central Latino is bringing Darkness to Light's Stewards of Children program to this community. Stewards of Children is a revolutionary, research-based sexual abuse prevention training program developed by Darkness to Light. Stewards of Children educates adults to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to the epidemic of child sexual abuse.

Organizations that would like to schedule a training, should contact Adrienne Opdyke at 828-465-7665. An authorized facilitator is available to come to your organization to conduct the training. The facilitator is also equipped to consult with your organization about child protection policies and procedures.

Adults who participate in Stewards of Children training will learn how sexual abuse affects communities nationwide. They will learn about the long-term and often devastating effects that sexual abuse has on individuals. Most importantly, participants will leave with simple, proactive strategies for protecting children from sexual abuse.

Only 10% of child sexual abuse cases are committed by strangers; 90% of these incidents involve an adult known by the child and/or the child's family. This is a chilling statistic, but one that cannot be ignored.

As adults, it is our responsibility to protect the children in our community from sexual abuse so that they can grow up to lead healthy productive lives. They are our most precious resource.

For more information about the Stewards of Children program, visit www.darkness2light.org.