(Bucks County, PA) April is Child Sexual Assault Awareness month, and Network
of Victim Assistance (NOVA), Bucks County’s comprehensive service agency for victims of sexual assault and other serious crimes, has an ambitious goal of training 25,000 adults in Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) awareness and prevention via its “Not On My Watch” education program. In order to meet that goal, NOVA has placed ads for the program on mini-buses that travel through Bucks County during the month of March.
NOVA hopes to raise awareness of this through a photo
contest that runs through March 31. In order to participate, individuals who
live, work or worship in the County should safely take a photo if they spot a CSA
Stoppers mini-bus during their travels and share it at http://bit.ly/3dK3dRG.
The contest winner will be chosen in April at random from
all submissions. The winner will receive a thank you gift package
including a #NotOnMyWatch T-Shirt, a reusable shopping
tote, a $10.00 NOVA Thrift Shop gift certificate, and a Hope bracelet. (Retail value $50.00).
The contest runs from March 1 to March 30.
“The bus campaign is an amazing opportunity to take our message of protecting children directly into our communities,” said Grace Wheeler, NOVA’s Director of Prevention and Education. “Prevention is a community effort, so we need people to sign up for a CSA Stoppers webinar training. I am looking forward to seeing all of the places where residents spot the mini-buses and having a number of them sign up for the training.”
“Not on My Watch” is part of the Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative, a joint effort by Bucks County, NOVA, Penn State University, and other local organizations to reduce rates of child sexual abuse. The project is funded by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), and educates the public on Child Sexual Abuse prevention through a two-hour evidence-based program entitled “Darkness to Light: Stewards of Children®.”
NOVA aims to train 5% of adults in Bucks
County by 2021. This program is available to all adults in Bucks County and CE
credits are available for many licensed or certified professions. To become
one of the many adults who have joined a growing group of CSA Stoppers in Bucks
County, visit www.novabucks.org/csastoppers to learn more and sign up for the FREE two-hour
training. For additional information or questions, contact Grace Wheeler,
Director of Prevention and Training at grace@novabucks.org.
ABOUT NOVA
Network of Victim Assistance (NOVA) supports, counsels and empowers
victims of sexual assault and other serious crimes in Bucks County and works to
prevent and eliminate violence in society through advocacy, training, community
education and prevention programs. Founded in 1974, NOVA is a non-profit
501(c)(3), community-based organization operating out of three offices in
Fairless Hills, Jamison and Perkasie. Services are made possible through the
financial support of federal, state and local government grants and contracts,
corporations, foundations and private donations. All contributions are tax
deductible to the extent provided by law. For more information, visit www.NOVABucks.org.
ABOUT DARKNESS TO LIGHT
Darkness to Light is a nonprofit organization with the mission to empower adults to prevent child sexual abuse. Through education and awareness, the organization seeks to create a safer world for children to grow and thrive. Darkness to Light’s flagship program, Stewards of Children®, is an award-winning training that teaches adults to prevent, recognize and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. More than 1.8 million adults including educators, youth serving professionals, organization volunteers, and community members have been certified in the program. Stewards of Children® is the only evidence-informed training of its kind, with the largest network of child protection advocates in the world as facilitators. For more information, visit www.D2L.org.
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Editor’s Note: Photo courtesy of Network of Victim Assistance (NOVA)
Photo: CSA Stoppers Bus – Network of Victim Assistance is raising awareness of its
CSA (Child Sexual Assault) Stoppers initiative through a photo contest that
runs through March 31. In order to participate, individuals who live, work or
worship in the County should safely take a photo if they spot a CSA Stoppers
mini-bus during their travels and share it at http://bit.ly/3dK3dRG. One winner will be chosen at random in April, which is
Child Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
