The McGruff Club

As you can see by the monthly messages, the focus on safety and education of youth begin at the age of six. This month the message is:

Engaging Young People in Crime Prevention - - -

The world is a better and safer place when we care for others and they care for us. Doing so strengthens the community and also the country, and remains one of the best approaches to crime prevention. When youth become involved in community and service projects, they take a stand against crime and violence and become part of the solution. From cleaning up a run-down playground to removing graffiti from the school walls to teaching younger children to stay safe to fundraisers; youth can make a difference and, in the process, gain self-confidence and learn new skills.

McGruff Club is a program created by the National Crime Prevention Council to educate children ages 6 to 10 on what they can do to stay safe, prevent crime and violence, and participate in service projects designed to make their communities safer. Children meet weekly for 45 minutes and spend this time identifying safety concerns, learning how to stay safe, engaging in service projects, and celebrating those projects. All children in McGruff Club explore the topics of safe and unsafe neighborhoods, conflict management, bullying, and dangerous neighborhood situations. McGruff Clubs address additional issues based on the concerns of the children, which may include diversity, Internet safety, gun and other weapons, and home safety. Members receive special McGruff items and adult facilitators receive a resource toolkit to help them teach children about crime prevention and safety.

Contact: Joselle Shaw, National Crime Prevention Council, jshea@ncpc.org, 202-466-6272

Teens, Crime, and the Community (TCC) initiative was created to reduce high rates of teen victimization and to engage young people in their communities. TCC seeks to tap and focus teens’ energy, talent, and enthusiasm so they can participate in their communities as responsible citizens. Community Works, TCC’s curriculum, is designed to teach youth about different types of crime, the costs and consequences of crime, conflict management strategies, how crime affects communities, and what community prevention programs and services are available to them. TCC’s club model, the Youth Safety Corps Club (YSC), provides young people with ongoing, active involvement in TCC and the opportunity to design and implement crime, violence, and drug abuse prevention projects. The mission of YSC is to recruit, train, and mobilize a diverse student population to improve the learning environment in America ’s schools by designing and running projects to prevent youth crime, violence, and drug abuse.

Contact: Teens, Crime, and the Community, tcc@ncpc.org, www.ncpc.org/programs/tcc