The Hometown Treasure January 2012 | Page 38

r.a.d. KIDS Course Empowers Children The Shipshewana Police Department recently hosted its first r.a.d. KIDS course at the Wolfe Building in Shipshewana. The course instruction was led by Shipshewana Deputy Nick Byroad with assistance provided by Amanda Rinkel and Sarah Reinhold, who are all certified r.a.d. KIDS Instructors in LaGrange County. Through r.a.d. KIDS training, children become empowered and learn to replace the fear, confusion, and panic of dangerous situations with confidence, personal safety skills, and self-esteem. The training also enhances the ability of children and parents to utilize knowledge, skills, and power to protect themselves from violence and harm. r.a.d. KIDS, the national leader in children’s safety, has brought to children and parents the training and development of nationally certified instructors drawn from their own communities. Endorsed by the Elizabeth Smart and Polly Klass Foundations, r.a.d. KIDS has become the premier safety education program amongst young people today. The Girls Scouts of America have created a merit badge for Brownies completing this training. This program is open to boys and girls preschool through sixth grade (ages 3½ to 12) and covers virtually all aspects of child safety awareness. This ten hour program will keep the child active in learning about safety and conflict avoidance. At the conclusion of this training, each child will be able to demonstrate their learned abilities in simulated confrontations to include a simulated call to 911 to report their emergency. Any parents interested in information or enrolling their children in a r.a.d. KIDS course should contact Shipshewana Deputy Nicholas Byroad at (260) 768-4310. pg 36 · The Hometown Treasure · Jan. ‘12