For Immediate Release
Contact Liz Shawen
850.224.0174
lizs@moore-pr.com
Child Safety Coalition Announces Summer Safety Awareness Campaign
Stop Internet Predators Partners with AG McCollum’s CyberCrime Unit
For Statewide Education Presentations
Jacksonville, Fla. (May 18, 2009) – To kick off their Summer Safety Awareness Week, Stop Internet Predators, an initiative of the national non-profit organization Stop Child Predators, today announced a partnership with Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum’s CyberCrime Unit to conduct a summer safety awareness campaign. The organization and the CyberCrime Unit will work together on statewide Internet safety presentations for local PTAs and other interested groups throughout the next three months.
“We are so happy to work with Attorney General McCollum’s exemplary CyberCrime Unit to help educate communities on child internet safety,” said Stacie Rumenap, executive director of Stop Child Predators. “This is a natural partnership for us, as child safety, both online and off, is a passion for my organization and the Attorney General’s Office.”
This latest initiative by Stop Internet Predators and the Attorney General’s CyberCrime Unit will focus on educating PTA members about the dangers posed to children online, particularly by predators’ use of emerging Internet technologies to victimize children. The presentation will offer critical insight to community and child safety stakeholders on how to be proactive when protecting their children from the potentially harmful abuse of online applications.
”CyberSafety and education about safe internet use should be a top priority for our students, our parents, our grandparents and any other concerned Floridian,” said Attorney General McCollum. “The more we know about safe internet use, the better we can help protect our children from internet child predators.”
In 2007, Attorney General McCollum’s CyberSafety Education program debuted at public and private middle and high schools across the state. During the interactive 50-minute PowerPoint-based program, students learn about the risks posed by online predators, as well as what constitutes a cyber crime and how to report it. The program is presented by specially-trained members of the Attorney General’s team. To date, the presentation has reached more than 382,000 students, including 195,000 children this school year alone.
Stop Child Predators has designated the week of May 18 through May 24, 2009 as “Stop Internet Predators Summer Safety Awareness Week.” This week serves as an opportunity for citizens to learn more about how child predators are abusing the Internet and what new technologies may pose a threat to families and children, as well as local efforts that address child sexual abuse and abduction.
For more information about Stop Internet Predators and its work in Florida, log on to www.StopInternetPredators.org. To request a presentation in your area, contact Liz Shawen at (850) 224-0174 or lizs@moore-pr.com.
About Stop Internet Predators
Stop Internet Predators is a project of Stop Child Predators, launched to educate parents and communities on emerging online child safety issues and empower them to protect their children’s privacy and safety. Stop Internet Predators has a special focus on new internet technologies that pose a risk to their children’s safety, such as Google’s Street View.
###
