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September 2011

Your Foundation Focus

IN THIS ISSUE

Parent Aide Update

Symposium Energizes Attendees

New Brochure rplaces SBS

Special message from the Foundation President

CAP Briefs

Advancing Exchange Parent Aide

Exciting new strides have been made within our Exchange Club Child Abuse Prevention Center network. Through the years, our CAP Centers have worked diligently to strengthen and improve their families' lives through Exchange Parent Aide. Now, research results demonstrate that our work with families achieves positive outcomes for children and parents. Having completed one randomized controlled study, one retrospective study, one comparison study, and two quasi-experimental studies, we can now consider our model to be "evidenced based". A new Parent Aide Training Manual has been developed and piloted, utilizing information from the research. This manual will enable all Exchange CAP Centers to use a consistent framework for training all Parent Aides to effectively use the model.

Symposium Renews Energy

Our 28th Annual CAP Symposium was a week full of activities to learn, contribute, network, and grow. There was a great deal of excitement this year about the direction our network is taking with newly released research results, new training materials, and new opportunities for collaboration and advocacy. Symposium has never "just" been about training. It is our annual opportunity to make decisions about our next steps as a network, share successes and challenges at the local level, and learn new developments at the national level. Everyone has an opportunity to have their voice heard. Thanks to our Foundation's Board of Trustees, we were able to provide scholarships and event tickets to more centers. There is a new commitment to our CAP Network as we move forward to strengthen our collective and individual efforts to respond to changes in the field and to work effectively with parents in preventing harm to children!

What Happened to the SBS Program?

Exchange Club members have distributed over a million copies of the "Egg-crate Babies" brochures across the country through the years in order to prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS). When we realized that these popular brochures had saturated many communities, it was time for an update. That's when we became aware of new research and trends related to Shaken Baby Syndrome that made us realize that we needed to change not only our look, but our message. Numerous studies link infant crying with greater risk of SBS. Others were using this knowledge to create more effective messages about how to handle excessive crying. When we revised our own materials, we used what we learned from the research as well as our year-long partnership with the Shaken Baby Alliance. Now, the "Crying Code" is our SBS Prevention brochure, helping parents and caretakers avoid the frustration that arises from feelings of helplessness. Check out the Crying Code brochures from the NEC Exchange Market!

GIVING PROGRAMS SUSTAIN NATIONAL EFFORTS

Your National Exchange Club Foundation provides resources for the programs and projects of Exchange. To meet these ends, we have several giving programs to meet the individual needs of our members. Each campaign is independent of the others. ALL contributions count toward a member's "Medallion Status", which is the individual's cumulative giving total. However, money donated for any one of the following campaigns can only be counted toward that one campaign.

Memorials and Tributes - These gifts enable members to commemorate, celebrate, or congratulate with a special gift to your National Exchange Club Foundation. A donation is a thoughtful and meaningful way to honor and remember. When you make a donation, we send an acknowledgement to you and a note to the person or family of the person being honored or remembered.

Regular Giving - Each year, we send out an appeal to donors and other members in the fall to consider an end of year charitable contribution. However, gifts can be made at any time of the year and any member may contribute. These annual gifts are essential, because they provide flexible, immediate funding for program and operational expenses.

Berkey Fellowships - Members making annual contributions of $1,000 to the NEC Foundation, honor our founder, Mr. Charles Berkey, by supporting the programs of Exchange. Gifts made to the Berkey Fellowship have traditionally become part of our permanent endowment fund. However, currently Berkey Fellows can choose whether to support the endowment, support programs, or unrestrict their contributions for use as needed. This contribution may be made in lump sum or by payment throughout the year, as long as the $1,000 goal is achieved within the fiscal year (by June 30). A celebratory dinner is held each year at convention for new Berkey Fellows and Berkey Fellows that have increased their Berkey level during that year.

Dr. Edward R. North Society - This program was formed to allow supporters to honor the ideals Dr. North set forth in The National Exchange Club, namely the prevention of child abuse. The $1,000 donation (payable over five years) is divided equally between the Foundation's endowment fund and program funds. Donations to the North Society express a member's commitment to the prevention of child abuse and the future of Exchange.

The Heritage Society - Those making a commitment of a planned gift to the NEC Foundation are recognized by inclusion in this group. Membership in the Heritage Society is accorded to individuals who have indicated in writing their intention to include the National Exchange Club Foundation in their estates. Estate planning is an important part of every person's life plan regardless of age. You can brighten your children's futures by planning a gift in your estate today.

Investing in America's Future (IIAF) - The IIAF Steering Committee is committed to the long term success of this major fund development effort, confident that it will enable us to continue to expand our efforts and secure our future. A core group of Exchange leaders has remained with the Steering Committee since the campaign was launched, and a few recent additions are helping to expand campaign efforts. The committee now consists of Co-chairs Foundation President Yvonne Ledoux and Past National Exchange Club President Kim Hodges; Honorary co-chairs and Past National Exchange Club Presidents Gerald Franklin and Charlie Braddock; as well as National Exchange Club President Sid Mobley, Past National Exchange Club President John Hood, Past NEC Foundation Presidents Mike Jernigan, Rick Gordon and Ken Warner; and staff liaison Karen Askew. They maintain a bi-monthly meeting schedule to oversee and manage the campaign.

In the spirit of Exchange,

Yvonne Ledoux

NEC Foundation President

yledoux@plasticdesign.com.

OUR MISSION

To provide financial resources for the National Exchange Club Programs of Service and our National Project the Prevention of Child Abuse

OUR VISION

Strong American families and National Exchange Club identity through the prevention of child abuse and Exchange's Programs of Service

Thank you for all you do in support of the National Exchange Club Foundation. We encourage you to ask questions and learn more. Please visit our websites at www.exchangeclubfoundation.org and www.preventchildabuse.com. Do not hesitate to contact me at yledoux@plasticdesign.com or 860-922-6844 or Interim Executive Director, Karen Askew at kaskew@nationalexchangeclub.org or 800-816-4570.