Nancy Sebastian has spent much of her life working to keep children safe. This is how Nancy does mercy:
“Sharing what we know about personal safety with the children we love is an act of mercy that can save a life. It’s as easy as teaching a child to cross the street. Children who recognize red flags and know circumstances to avoid will be safer. The same is true for teens. In addition, teens dealing with depression and anxiety are now at an all-time high. Showing concern and kindness can make a huge difference to them.
Everyone wants to know they matter.
I feel very blessed throughout my life to have been able to empower children and teens to protect themselves and their peers from harm and live safer, happier lives. As a mother, teacher, school counselor, and now Executive Director of the KinderVision Foundation for the past 27 years, my journey has been one of amazing grace and awesome miracles, both personally and professionally, with the well-being of young people always a priority.
KinderVision began in 1991 as the result of the abduction and murder of a 7-year-old little girl. Her case remains unsolved. We wanted to prevent future tragedies so we created a video with personal safety tips for young children in English and Spanish narrated by an 8-year-old little girl and a police officer. We personalized our safety video by recording the child on the end to encourage viewing. Hundreds of thousands of children have benefited from that program. It is now digital and the safety tips can be found at www.KVKids.org.
Ten years ago law enforcement asked us to create a program for teens, the age group most at risk for victimization. The Greatest Save Teen PSA (Public Service Announcement) Program was our response. In this peer-to-peer personal safety program, teens choose any topic on teen victimization, research it, and create a 30-second video message for their peers. The messages are then organized by topics and used by schools across the country to raise awareness, engage students in discussions about personal safety, and end teen victimization.
Annually thousands of teens vote for our national TGS Teen PSA contest winner from PSAs submitted by high school students around the country. As a recognized charity of Major League Baseball, we honor those area high school winners with the teams, which is an amazing experience for the teens. Visit www.TeenPSA.org to see current winning Teen PSAs.
We have always believed this is the Lord’s work. I sometimes feel like we don’t have enough time to reach all the young people who need this information, but if we can empower parents to empower their children and teens to empower each other, we are making a good start. I keep thinking I will retire, but there is still so much that needs to be done – and the outcome is so worth the effort.”
Hi all~ As a mother of two teenage boys, I especially appreciate the work Nancy does to keep teens safe. Being a teenager seems harder than ever. But it also makes our mercy towards them even more meaningful.
One of the reasons I wrote my new book, Simple Mercies, is because oftentimes we fail to recognize the way small acts of kindness can make a difference. For the next few weeks, I’m highlighting simple ways that others are sharing mercy as an organic part of their daily life. If you or someone you know would like to participate in this series, please email me at [email protected] to share your own story of mercy. If you would like to learn more about the ways that mercy can bring peace and fulfillment to your life while answering God’s call to serve, preorder Simple Mercies, at this Amazon link or San Marco book store http://Bit.ly/larabooks ~ love, Lara