It’s called Five Days of Action, but it’s a daily priority – keeping children safe. At the YMCA of the Suncoast, we take this responsibility very seriously.
April 21-25 is designated as Five Days of Action. A YUSA campaign, it is designed to create awareness and inspire adults to take action and protect children from child sexual abuse. All our Suncoast Y branches offer the Monique Burr Curriculum: Child Safety Matters to the children in our before and after school programs. This curriculum is designed to educate and protect children and teens from all types of bullying and abuse. It is an evidence-based and evidence-informed curriculum that empowers children to prevent, recognize and respond appropriately.
Our Association is also Praesidium Accredited, which is a standardized, consistent and objective process that allows organizations to publicly demonstrate their commitment to abuse prevention.
“Our YMCA went through an extensive process, starting with a self-assessment to identify the standards we already met and/or the ones we needed to take a deeper dive into and begin making organizational changes to implement,” explained Beth Gettig, Vice President of Youth Development, YMCA of the Suncoast.
“Once we worked through those steps, a team from Praesidium conducted a site visit to interview staff, review records, do building inspections and program observations to ensure the implementation of Praesidium standards. We have been accredited for three years and are currently in the process of recertifying,” adds Beth.
Visit our website to learn more and see resources for parents. Please consider donating to the YMCA of the Suncoast programs.
Published Monday, April 28, 2025.