A new program, MBF Teen Safety Matters™, was recently launched by the Monique Burr Foundation for Children to prevent child abuse and bullying among teen-agers.
Community First Cares Foundation Awards $10,000 Grant to Monique Burr Foundation for Children
Funding to aid in development and piloting of MBF Teen Safety Matters®: High School Edition
Jacksonville, Fla. (January 23, 2019) – The Community First Cares Foundation – the nonprofit philanthropic arm of Community First Credit Union – has awarded a $10,000 grant to the Monique Burr Foundation Children (MBF). The grant will fund the development and piloting of MBF’s latest prevention education program, MBF Teen Safety Matters®, which will provide the curriculum to high school students in the First Coast.
The mission of the Monique Burr Foundation for Children is to make a positive impact on the community as a whole, to create change in a family's life for the better, and to give hope in the life of a child by providing bullying and child abuse prevention safety education that is relevant to issues facing children today.
“The Community First Cares Foundation’s partnership has been vital in helping us develop and pilot MBF Teen Safety Matters®,” said Lynn Layton, President and CEO of the Monique Burr Foundation for Children. “Because of Community First Cares Foundation’s generosity in the past, MBF was able to expand our programming for middle school students – and to date, have reached 74,000 middle school students in Northeast Florida. The current funds will allow us to continue that expansion into high schools, thus allowing us to reach even more students in all grades, K-12, with critical safety information.”
MBF Teen Safety Matters® is a comprehensive, evidence-informed prevention education program that educates and empowers teens and all relevant adults with information and strategies to prevent, recognize, and respond appropriately to bullying, cyberbullying, the four types of child abuse, relationship abuse, sex trafficking, digital abuse, and other digital dangers.
“The program was developed with schools, not for schools, to make the best use of existing resources and ensure schools have effective programs that are easy to implement,” said Layton.
Funding from the grant will aid in the development of the program for high school students, as well as to implement the program at pilot sites, and to solicit facilitator feedback to refine and finalize the curriculum lessons – all in an effort to reach even more students.
“The Monique Burr Foundation for Children is a shining force in our community,” said Missy Peters, executive director of the Community First Cares Foundation. “By working together we can provide high school students with important tools designed to help keep them safe, healthy, and ready to learn.”
About the Monique Burr Foundation for Children
Founded in 1997, the Monique Burr Foundation for Children (MBF) is a leader in protecting children. MBF’s sole focus is on prevention education – with evidence-based and evidence-informed prevention education programs that have reached more than 2.5 million children and teens since 2010. The programs, including MBF Child Safety Matters® (grades K-5), MBF Teen Safety Matters® (grades 6-8) and MBF Athlete Safety Matters™ have been reviewed and endorsed by leading experts. They educate and empower children and adults to prevent, recognize, and respond appropriately to bullying, cyberbullying, digital dangers and the four types of child abuse.
About the Community First Cares Foundation
The Community First Cares Foundation, founded in 2013 by Community First Credit Union, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) community foundation that grants funds to improve the quality of life in North Florida. The foundation supports activities to improve financial literacy, enhance the quality of our educational system, upgrade the health and welfare of our community and help underserved citizens. The Community First Cares Foundation makes contributions to non-profit organizations that serve the communities on the First Coast.
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Poverty is a silent epidemic in our schools, and many issues with attendance and academics are directly related to students not having clean clothes, shoes that fit, or the supplies they need to be successful in school. Students want to feel good about themselves when they come to school, and we want to help them have everything they need to learn. We could not have opened our first on-site classroom-sized Giving Closet without this funding and volunteer support.
Jennifer Smith, DCPS teacher and Founder of The Giving Closet Project.