Magenu
| Motto | Do You Magenu? |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 |
| Founder | Dr. Shani Zoldan-Verschleiser |
| 11-3463309 | |
| Registration no. | 11-3463309 (EIN) |
| Purpose | "Organized to protect children through safety education via a coordinated effort between schools, parents, and children." |
| Location |
|
Key people | Dr. Shani Zoldan-Verschleiser, Eli Verschleiser, Rabbi Ronald Greenwald |
Employees | 2 |
Volunteers | 60 |
| Website | http://www.Magenu.org |
Magenu is a Jewish educational not for profit 501(c) organization created to protect children through safety education, in a coordinated effort between schools, parents, and children. Magenu brings awareness to important children safety topics with an emphasis on empowering children to be protected from child sexual abuse,[1] within Jewish communities worldwide.
History
Magenu was established in 2012 by Dr. Shani Verschleiser,[2] in response to increased reported incidences of child sexual abuse in Jewish communities in the New York City region.[3] Magenu was started as a grassroots organization which quickly gained steam becoming a leader in the field amongst Jewish communities on the East coast of the USA. Magenu now employs multiple educational programs and awareness projects in its approach to empowering adults and everyone in a child’s life.
Projects & Programing
Magenu utilizes several programs targeting increased education with its students:
- The Shul / Synagogue Safety Awareness: As a house of worship a Synagogue / Shul has many children in a potentially unstructured environment. Magenu has created a specific awareness program to combat the occurrence of child abuse within such facilities.
- Jewish Holiday Safety Awareness: Magenu creates postcards and flyers for distribution at every Jewish Holliday year round. As holidays are a time whereas children are in less structured environment, incidences of child abuse rise.
- Summer Safety Education and Awareness: At the start of the summer season, Magenu has an annual Safety Day fair where thousands attend in order to promote awareness and educate parents and children on the pitfalls summer can bring. As part of its efforts Magenu has published a manual detailing how parents can educate children when in a more unstructured or unsupervised environment as each year children head off to sleep away camp, attend day camp, and move to summer homes or bungalow colonies.
- Magenu “Be A Star” Personal Safety program not only teaches children about personal safety but also puts emphasis on educating the significant adults in a child’s life. The goal is for the child to be able to communicate with his/her parent/caregiver in all situations.
Events
In 2014 Magenu hosted its 2nd annual Safety Day[4] fair at Floyd Bennett Field in Gateway National Recreation Area, which is managed by the National Park Service.[5] Thousands of parents and children attended a fun filled full day of safety education while exploring vehicles brought by the New York City Police Department, and other local and state emergency response personnel. The first Safety Day fair, in 2013 garnered attendees including local organizations, businesses, and politicians including Senator Charles Schumer.
References
- ↑ Dickter, Adam (6 June 2013). "Grassroots Brooklyn Organization Teaches Orthodox Kids To Be Wary Of Abuse". The Jewish Week. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ↑ "Keeping Kids Safe: Personal Safety Education in Schools, Social Work Graduate Student is Founder of Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program". The Social Worker. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
- ↑ Otterman, Sharon (9 May 2012). "Ultra-Orthodox Shun Their Own for Reporting Child Sexual Abuse". The NY Times. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ↑ Tannenbaum, Gershon (18 June 2014). "Magenu: An Ounce Of Prevention: Machberes: Inside The Chassidish And Yeshivish World". The Five Towns Jewish Times. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
- ↑ Ogle, Vanessa (18 June 2014). "Sound the alarms: Emergency services workers teach kids importance of safety". The Brooklyn Daily. Retrieved 4 July 2014.