LOCAL NONPROFIT COLLECTING CLOTHES, SUPPLIES FOR KIDS
A local nonprofit organization called the Kids Defense Team is requesting donations of clothing and school supplies for children who need them. Winter clothes, coats, backpacks and other school supplies will be especially appreciated. The Kids Defense League plans to distribute them to local children through homeless shelters, women's shelters and programs for foster children.
"I thought that, if I could help them get some clothing together that would be acceptable, then there would be more acceptance and less violence," says CEO and president of the Kids Defense Team, which focuses on children's safety.
Please contact Kids Defense Team Inc mail clothing and supplies to the Kids Defense Team, P.O. Box 140, Northeast, MD, 21901. If sending clothes or supplies is to expensive to send via regular mail, we also accept gift cards from stores so that we may pass out to homeless shelters for the people who are staying there to utilize and get supplies they need.
About the Kids Defense Team:
The Kids Defense Team is a Northeast, Md.-based nonprofit organization that aims to protect children from Internet predators. It provides seminars on internet safety, bullying, domestic abuse, and teenage drug and alcohol abuse. Our organization started in 2003.
The Kids Defense Team is registered on search engine at . If you designate the Kids Defense Team as your charity, we will receive contributions for each time you conduct Web searches using that search engine. Don't forget to click on the GOODSHOP at GOODSEARCH, that gives Kids Defense Team several ways to get donations from stores while you shop.
Sexual Predators/Pedophiles typically communicate by:
*Web sites
*E-mail
*Instant messenger
*Public chat rooms
*Private chat rooms
The greatest danger is with chat rooms. Predators and pedophiles use chat rooms to scope out their victims. They watch the conversations in the chat room to choose their target. They look at the profiles of the people in the room, looking for the child that fits the age, sex, and location of what they want. They then instant message the child and use the information they've gained from watching the room and from the child's profile to start a conversation.
All children are at risk and can potentially be the target of a predator or pedophile online. It is essential that parents and children become aware of the risks, the methods these predators use, and how to handle dangerous situations online.
Things for parents to watch for:
Is your child online late at night?
Is your child online an excessive amount of time?
Does your child frequent chat rooms?
Is your child willing to talk about their online experiences or is he/she evasive?
Does your child spend time online when alone?
Does your child close out of a site or window or minimize the window when you approach?
Does you child have the computer in his/her room and away from your observation?
Your child may feel a false sense of security chatting from behind a computer screen.
The internet can be a very dangerous place for your child.
Predators and pedophiles are proficient at getting children to communicate with them.
Statistics from a survey conducted by Cox Communication and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
51% of parents do not have or do not know if they have software on their computer(s) that monitors where their children online and with whom they interact
42% of parents do not review what their children read and/or type in chat rooms or via instant messaging.
57% of parents don't know what LOL (laughing out loud) means in chat lingo
68% of parents don't know what BRB (be right back) means in chat lingo
92% of parents don't know what A/S/L (age/sex/location) means in chat lingo
95% of parents couldn’t identify chat room lingo that children use to warn people they’re chatting with that their parents are watching. POS (Parent Over Shoulder) and P911 (Parent Alert).
28% of parents don’t know or are not sure if their children talk to strangers online.
30% of parents allow their teenagers to use the computer in private areas of the house such as a bedroom or a home office. Parents say they are more vigilant about where their teen(s) go online if the computer is in a public area of the household.
58% of parents review the content of what their children read and/or type in chat rooms or via Instant Messaging; 42% do not.
This report is based on interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,501 youth ages 10 to 17 who use the Internet regularly:
Approximately one in five received a sexual solicitation or approach over the Internet in the last year.
One in thirty-three received an aggressive sexual solicitation — a solicitor who asked to meet them somewhere; called them on the telephone; sent them regular mail, money, or gifts.
One in four had an unwanted exposure to pictures of naked people or people having sex in the last year.
One in seventeen was threatened or harassed.
Approximately one quarter of young people who reported these incidents were distressed by them.
Less than 10 percent of sexual solicitations and only 3 percent of unwanted exposure episodes were reported to authorities such as a law-enforcement agency, an Internet Service Provider, or a hotline.
About one quarter of the youth who encountered a sexual solicitation or approach told a parent. Almost 40% of those reporting an unwanted exposure to sexual material told a parent.
Only 17% of youth and approximately 10% of parents could name a specific authority, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, CyberTipline, or an Internet Service provider, to which they could make a report.
One third of parents said they had filtering or blocking software on their computer
14% of youth reported close online friendships and 2% reported online romances. Girls were slightly more likely than boys to have close online relationships with 16 and 12%, respectively.
Girls aged 14 to 17 were about twice as likely as girls who were 10 to 13 to form close online relationships.
The two problems associated with close online relationships were high parent-child conflict and being highly troubled.
Youth with problems were more likely to have formed online romantic relationships, been asked by online friends for face-to-face meetings, and attended face-to-face meetings with people they first met online.
Tips to help minimize your child's potential
of becoming a victim to a predator or pedophile:
Talk with your child regarding the dangers of going into chat rooms and responding to instant messages from people they don't know.
Warn your child that some people are not who they say they are online. They may be posing as another child to get more info from them.
Do not allow your child to post pictures of themselves or anything else that would identify them, where they live or go to school anywhere online or to send pictures to anyone over the internet or by mail to anyone they have met online.
Warn your child not to ever give out personal information to anyone online (name, address, phone number, school, town, birth date, etc.). Predators can use any bit of information to track and locate your child.
Warn your child not to use a ID that consists of their real name or age or location. Warn your child not to put any personal information in their profile.
Warn your child not to put pictures on their profile.
Locate your computer in a location where your are able to watch what they are doing online.
Check into internet filtering software used to monitor your child's online activity (many options are available).
Become knowledgeable about how chat rooms work and which ones your child visits.
Become familiar with the lingo used in chat so you know what is being said to your child and by your child.
Establish defined rules for computer use by your child.
Closely monitor your child's online activities. Read unfamiliar email.
Talk with your child about what is inappropriate conversation topics. They should not discuss the "private areas" of their bodies (areas of their bodies covered by a bathing suit). They need to know that no one has the right to touch them there and no one online has the right to talk about that area.
Warn your child that if someone they think is a 'friend' tells them to keep anything a secret from their parents, they are probably dangerous.
Encourage your child not to respond to anyone who says anything mean or makes them feel at all uncomfortable or if anyone makes inappropriate comments to them. Encourage your child to report any of these things to you immediately.
Maintain open lines of communication with your child about their online activities and online friends.
Encourage your child to talk with you. Predators prey on tensions between parents and children.
Monitor your long distance phone bill. Keep track of the calls made incoming and outgoing on your childs cell phone. You can do so by logging on to the cell phone companies website.
If your child is approached by someone online asking for personal information or talking in a sexually explicit manner encourage them to report it to you immediately.
If your child is asked to meet anyone in person they have met online have them relay that information to you.
Warn your child never to agree to meet in person someone they have met online.
If your child is approached by someone online do not close the window or program. Information from there is needed to file a report. (See HOW TO REPORT A PREDATOR/PEDOPHILE)
Know what to do if your child is approached online. (See HOW TO REPORT A PEDATOR/PEDOPHILE)
How to report an online
predator/pedophile incident:
If your child is approached by a predator online you should first contact the following:
Your local law enforcement officers.
If you contact Kids Defense Team we can guide you in completing a report and helping you to contact the appropriate authorities in your area.
Contact your ISP and report the incident.
Information you will need about the incident to file a report:
Online location where incident occurred (Where you were when contacted or approached - specific chat room or Instant Message)
The complete screen name of the individual you wish to report
The nature of the complaint (if possible copy and paste the conversation to Microsoft notepad to save) or make sure the instant message has been archived (if you turn on the 'enable archive‘ choice in PREFERENCE section, any instant messages will automatically be saved) chat room conversations are not able to be archived.
Date and time of incident
Information on the person reporting the incident
All known info about the perpetrator (screen name, age, location, name, phone, etc)
In order to preserve evidence do not close out of any conversation or windows until all relevant data has been reported.
Do NOT tip off the offender that you are going to report them - they could destroy valuable evidence and not be arrested and charged.
Remember, by reporting an incident you may prevent another child from becoming a victim.
Kids Defense Team Inc. P.O. Box 140 North East, Maryland 21901
Phone # 410-287-8027
Fax # 443-674-8791
Note:
Kids Defense Team disclaims any and all responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, completeness, legality, reliability, or operability or availability of information or material displayed on this web site. KDT disclaims any responsibility for the deletion, failure to store, mis-delivery, or untimely delivery of any information or material to any agency, whether an act of nature or any other means. This service is an "as is" service. KDT disclaims any responsibility for any harm resulting from information turned over to any law enforcement agency or accessing any information or material on the Internet through this web site.
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