Guest Blog: Take 25 for your afterschool programs

Jenna-Lyn Ryckebusch, MA currently serves as the Senior Programs Coordinator at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, NCMEC. Ms. Ryckebusch has her master’s degree in Forensic Psychology and received a Bachelor of Science from Ursinus College in Psychology and Spanish. She is a proud Mentor through Big Brothers and Big Sisters and a member of the FBI Citizen’s Academy.

I recently exhibited at the National AfterSchool Association Annual Convention and was excited to meet many of you and hear about the needs of your afterschool organizations. I spoke to several attendees seeking innovative educational tools that can easily be implemented into youth programs. At the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), we understand how important it is to have access to free resources that help educate children and keep them safe. 

What NCMEC can offer you

Keeping children safe is an important role and one with which you are very familiar. As a caretaker for children of all ages, you are the perfect representatives to bring safety resources to your community.  This is why you should join NCMEC in a grassroots campaign, Take 25.

Take 25 encourages trusted adults to take 25 minutes to talk to children about safety. By taking the pledge on our website, you are committing to educate children about this crucial issue. To support the conversations you will have with the children in your programs, NCMEC has developed easy-to-use resources including Safety Activities, Safety Tips, and Discussion Guides.

One of our most popular resources is the Safety Activities. These are 15-minute group lessons designed to teach children ages 5-17 about personal safety. Afterschool programs can use the Safety Activities to encourage children to think critically about safety risks, such as walking to and from school safely, and practice safer behaviors.

An example of a great activity you can do with 5-8 year olds is the “True or False?” quiz. You will use masking tape to mark a line down the center of the room. Designate one side as true and one side as false. Then you will ask the children a series of true or false questions and tell them to move to the side of the room that represents their answer. This is a good way to teach them about safety concepts while keeping them active.

Get started

Visit www.take25.org and take the Pledge. Tell the world that your afterschool program helps empower children to make safer decisions! Like and follow Take 25 to share information about the campaign. If you have any questions or need additional resources, please contact me at jryckebusch@ncmec.org or (703) 837-6112.

Thank you for all of the work you do to support children in your community. We are glad to be partners with all of you!