Giving Back Through Our Advocacy Collaborative

We are thrilled to announce the launch of Darkness to Light’s Advocacy Collaborative, our new external advisory group dedicated to managing and facilitating access to resources that support our mission. 

The information below will help you learn more about the Advocacy Collaborative, its founding members, and how you can get involved. 

 

Stewards of Children® Advocacy Award

We’re thrilled to announce that the 2024 Stewards of Children® Advocacy Award recipients have been selected!

Thank you for your patience as the Advocacy Collaborative carefully reviewed an impressive number of applications. Our team will be reaching out to all applicants with updates on scholarship decisions.

Keep an eye out for our next round of scholarship applications, coming soon!

 

Ways You Can Support the Advocacy Collaborative

  • Join the Advocacy Collaborative as a member of the advisory group by contacting Rhonda Newton at RNewton@D2L.org.
  • Consider making a donation in honor of the scholarship fund. While a portion of all eligible donations that Darkness to Light receives supports the Advocacy Collaborative fund, you can designate your entire contribution to this cause by selecting “Scholarship Fund” during your online donation. 

Meet the Founding Members

Click on each of the team members below to read more about their involvement with the Advocacy Collaborative. If you are interested in joining the group, please contact Rhonda Newton at RNewton@D2L.org.

Denise Uhl Jenkins

“I was invited to be a part of bringing this vision to life earlier this year by Rhonda Newton, CEO of Darkness to Light. I was trained as a Facilitator in the fall of 2004 and first instructed a Facilitator Workshop in the summer of 2006. Throughout my 14-year career in a children’s advocacy center, I trained more than 12,000 adults. Retirement did not lessen my passion for the prevention of child sexual abuse. Since then, I have had the privilege to chair the Advisory Board throughout the NEW Stewards of Children® revisions. With two others, Scott Eastman and Martha Tumblin – each passionate about Darkness to Light’s mission and respected for their expertise – we drew on our experiences to develop the Advocacy Award concept. We are so excited to bring it to life!”

What is this program exactly?

The Advocacy Award is an amazing opportunity to train as a facilitator and/or develop a Stewards of Children® initiative in local communities with financial and implementation support from Darkness to Light. The application for the award is user-friendly and provides the information necessary for the Advocacy Collaborative to make decisions. If awarded, the completed application will serve as a timeline and implementation strategy for awardees and the Advocacy Collaborative to work together.

​Why do you think it is important to implement?

Darkness to Light’s decision to contribute 5% of sales to this collaborative is indicative of its commitment to the prevention of child sexual abuse. Through the Advocacy Award, that commitment now extends through financial assistance for the training of facilitators and the facilitation of Stewards of Children®.

Darkness to Light recognizes the vital role Facilitators fill in its mission. It trains, offers opportunities to grow their expertise as Facilitators, and supports the Facilitators in many ways. This relationship is now enhanced throughout the Advocacy Award process.

What does it mean for the future of prevention?

It strengthens the Darkness to Light mission to empower adults to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse through awareness, education, and stigma reduction. An Advocacy Award, both the dollars, and mentorship, promises the further development and engagement of current and new Facilitators. Through funding, the number of community initiatives will increase. Both investments are instrumental in achieving the mission of Darkness to Light.

How can you get involved?

  • Consider joining the Advocacy Collaborative. As financial opportunities for Advocacy Awards increase, additional facilitators and instructors will be encouraged to engage in this work.
  • Introduce the Advocacy Award in Facilitator Workshops. Ensure they know information and the application are on the website and in other Darkness to Light social media.
  • Make a designated donation to the Advocacy Collaborative.

Martha Tumblin

“Social and behavioral change toward improved safety for children evolves “one training at a time” in communities.”

What is this program exactly?                                   

The primary goal of Darkness to Light’s Advocacy Collaborative is to offer modest financial assistance to Stewards of Children® Facilitators to enhance community access and utilization of local Stewards of Children® trainings and support the Authorized Stewards of Children® Facilitators as they develop and grow their community-based child sexual abuse initiatives.

Why do you think it is important to implement?

Funding to help cover Stewards of Children® Workbook costs or Facilitator training costs for underfunded organizations can help launch their child protection policies by implementing Stewards of Children® trainings.

What does it mean for the future of prevention?

Cultural change occurs when adults are provided reputable information and tools necessary to motivate changes in personal, family, and organizational rituals, behaviors, and policies that are known to better protect children. Social and behavioral change toward improved safety for children evolves “one training at a time” in communities.

How can you get involved?

Promote Stewards of Children® trainings to friends, family, neighbors, and organizations in your community.

Invite local organizations and businesses to partner in support of local Stewards of Children® trainings.

Invite donations to Darkness to Light’s Advocacy Collaborative.

Scott Eastman

“The fight to eradicate child sexual abuse is one that needs as many accessible resources available as possible.”

What is this program exactly?

This program is intended to create further accessibility to the NEW Stewards of Children® training by helping grant recipients with potential cost obstacles in furthering their good work.

Why do you think it is important to implement?

As a long-time supporter and Facilitator of the various Stewards of Children® iterations, I believe in limiting or removing as many obstacles from the movement as possible. Helping grantees with funds that might literally make the difference between hosting classes or not is a cause worth supporting.

What does it mean for the future of prevention?

The fight to eradicate child sexual abuse is one that needs as many accessible resources available as possible. This is an area that has been lacking in financial support. My hope is that the grant program will inspire those with resources to get involved and help remove the financial obstacles from advancing the Stewards of Children® curriculum.

How can you get involved?

Become an advocate of the training, become a Facilitator, make a donation to Darkness to Light’s efforts, encourage friends and family to take the class, encourage your local non-profits to review their child abuse prevention policies…the list of ways you can get involved in endless. The key is making the decision today to join the fight against child sexual abuse and then take action!