Product donation is Symantec’s largest mechanism to support the nonprofit community and help nonprofits fulfill their missions. In partnership with TechSoup, each year we provide cybersecurity solutions to more than 25,000 organizations across 55 countries worldwide, allowing them to secure their most important data wherever it lives. Since launching the software donation program in 2002, Symantec has helped more than 93,000 nonprofits solve today’s biggest security challenges and protect against the ever-evolving threat landscape.
In honor of the United States’ National Military Veterans Appreciation Month, we’re shining a spotlight on Military Veterans Against Child Abuse—a nonprofit that relies on Symantec for data security, while it works relentlessly to teach young children how to stay safe and secure in the offline world through its award-winning program “A-B-C Learn Safety With Me”.
Creating a world where children feel safe and unafraid because they have the information and tools to make smart and empowered choices is no easy task. Between stranger awareness, bullying, fire and pool safety, animal safety, car seat safety, inappropriate touching and hygiene issues, the dangers are widespread. And while there are many programs aimed at grade school children, two U.S. Air Force veterans, Sharon and James Blacknall struggled to find age appropriate curriculum for kids 3 to 5 years old.
Instead of ignoring the gap, Sharon shared her concerns with her mother, a former pediatric nurse and school teacher, who encouraged her to address the problem. So she did.
Sharon published a first step and then in 2013 went on to found the Military Veterans Against Child Abuse (MVACA)—a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to educate young children, parents, child care providers, teachers and the community as a whole about child safety and child abuse prevention through educational material, activities, seminar and advocacy. MVACA believes that teaching preschool children about safety doesn’t have to be scary. Instead it can be as natural as learning the ABCs and 123s.
“There are a lot of kids out there that need to hear this message, and I get a thrill, because when you’re doing the program, you actually see the little light bulb when they get it, when you see them a year later and they tell you the things they use from the program to stay safe. I always say if I save one child I’m done. That’s why I was put here on earth,” said Blacknall, Executive Director of MVACA.
Nonprofit Military Veterans Against Child Abuse relies on Symantec for data security, while it works relentlessly to teach young children how to stay safe and secure in the offline world through its award-winning program “A-B-C Learn Safety With Me”.
The organization created “A-B-C Learn Safety With Me,” a comprehensive, innovative program that teaches three to five year old children the basics of safety, personal hygiene, their alphabet and numbers. When the child is introduced to a new number or alphabet, a corresponding safety rule is also taught. The suggested activities are designed to be taught in 30 minute increments and to complement a child development center's current curriculum, not replace it.
Today, MVACA remains an all-volunteer organization, with Sharon serving as the only full-time volunteer. Because safety is key to the organization’s mission, they make it a priority across all operations, including running Norton Small Business through the organization’s software donation partnership with TechSoup, to safeguard sensitive information such as photos and materials, and protect against threats.
“There have been attacks made toward our website and Facebook page. With Symantec running in the background, we have the peace of mind that no matter how many irons are in the fire at any given time, our data, email and copyrighted material are safe and secure,” said Blacknall.
MVACA is a movement among supporters at #safeandunafraid because they believe all children have the right to grow up safe and unafraid.
“With Symantec acting as our older, protective brother keeping an eye on us in the background, we too feel #safeandunafraid when logging on and accessing our necessary files,” said Blacknall.
Learn more about some of the many nonprofits utilizing Symantec products through Symantec’s partnership with TechSoup:
- Planting the Seeds for a Safer Future: Actions Today Changing our Tomorrow
- Cyber Security is Vital for Nonprofits Too: How Nonprofit CASA is Protecting Children’s Personal Information with Symantec
- Ambassadors of Safety: Kosch-Westerman Foundation and Symantec team up to protect the terminally ill
- Symantec Makes STEM Education Possible for The Einstein Project