We (Sally and Cherie Founders of 501c3 nonprofit KidSafe Foundation) received a direct dose of inspiration and empowerment to continue striving to bring our message to the masses. Yesterday, we had the honor of meeting the father who started the movement of keeping children safe, most famous for his part in fighting crime on America’s Most Wanted……John Walsh.
John spoke at an intimate luncheon sponsored by the World Affairs Council of the Florida Palm Beaches that we were honored to be in attendance. He said that he has been on television for so long that younger people often think that he is a soap opera actor. Most don’t even know who Adam Walsh was. But John Walsh said the memory is still fresh. "I went to work one day and I never saw my 6-year-old again. I will always be the father of a murdered son."
Since the loss of his son, Walsh has become the country’s most-known victims’ advocate through his show, America’s Most Wanted, which has assisted the capture of more than 1,140 fugitives worldwide. Now, Walsh is about to embark on an even bigger venture: World’s Most Wanted.
As Child Safety Experts, we have known about John & Reve’s life changing moment – when their son Adam was abducted and murdered by a child predator and why they started the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. When their son was abducted over 30 years ago there was no system in place to search for their son. There was no communication between the various helping professions: FBI, police, morgues, etc., and seemed to be a complete lack of understanding of the graveness of the situation (Oh he’s probably just walking home… suggested one unhelpful officer).
John & Reve made it their mission that no other parent would have to go through the horror they experienced and out of their garage the Adam Walsh Foundation had its first beginnings. John is an ever present advocate for the children that cannot speak for themselves, helping educate congress to pass extremely necessary child safety laws, and constantly speaking to the masses on the issues of global child safety.
But at the end of the day…what John stressed most during his speech was this plea:“Parents talk to your children.” At KidSafe Foundation this is our mantra: we say, we plead, we stress that ongoing conversations are a must…but we found it so profound coming from John Walsh. He discussed the dangers in our global world and the impact our new technology is having on our children. We learned something new and very disturbing – the country with the highest adult participation in child sex tourism (traveling to other countries like Thailand and Mexico to abuse children) is…the United States! John stated, “There is no room for any of us to be naïve or in denial about the dangers and suffering that exists.”
So KidSafe Foundation will continue on it mission of directly reaching out to parents, children and teachers to bring awareness and prevention education skills. Why? Because every child deserves the right to be safe and parents need to be the first line of defense in their child’s safety. Help us by taking a moment to read about what KidSafe Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit, is doing to keep children safe
