The Seal Beach Police Department and The Joyful Child Foundation are teaming up to bring the radKIDS Children’s Personal Safety and Empowerment Program to Seal Beach in August.
The SBPD is working with Erin Runnion and The Joyful Child Foundation to bring the radKIDS children’s safety program to the families of Seal Beach with elementary school-aged children. Erin’s daughter, Samantha, was abducted and killed on July 15, 2002. Based on Erin’s tragedy, she created The Joyful Child Foundation, which is committed to bringing awareness and training to the children of our community.
RadKIDS is a one week program, two hours per day for children aged 5-7 and 8-12, respectively, that teaches our kids about very important topics such as using 911 (kids get to actually call 911 from a cell phone), Escape Routes, School Safety, Drugs and Alcohol Awareness, Anti-Bullying, Home Safety, Beach Safety, Pool Safety, Vehicle and Bike Safety, Internet and Phone Safety, and Personal Boundaries. The unique aspect of this training program is the physical techniques taught to the children to resist and escape aggression and possible abduction.
Thursday, July 26, 2012, would have been Samantha Runnion’s 16th birthday. July 15, marked the 10th anniversary of her abduction, assault and murder from her Orange County neighborhood.
For more information about The Joyful Child Foundation, please contact Julia Helgeson at the Joyful Child Foundation at julia@thejoyfulchild.org or by visiting their website www.thejoyfulchild.org.
To register for the Aug. 6-10 radKIDS class, parents should plan to attend the MANDATORY Parent Meeting at the Seal Beach Police Department on Thursday, August 2 at 7:00 p.m.  Space is limited and registration will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. For more information about Seal Beach radKIDS or any of our community programs, please contact Sergeant Steve Bowles at (562) 799-4100 Ext. 1160 or Sbowles@sealbeachca.gov.
