Each year as April approaches, the Development, Marketing and Special Events departments at Tennyson Center are buzzing with energy as we juggle very full plates getting ready to help launch our annual Child Abuse Prevention Month (CAPM) campaign. We often joke that, during the weeks prior to CAPM, those very full plates morph into cafeteria trays overflowing with multiple time-sensitive projects and deadlines as we try to get the word out about CAPM, what it’s all about and how people can get involved.

I recently sat on a marketing, media and public relations panel discussion at The University of Denver where, as part of my presentation on effective campaign development, I mentioned CAPM to the bright young minds sitting in the room.

Afterwards, one of the students came up to me and said, “I loved your sense of passion as you talked about Tennyson Center and the work you guys do. But I have to be honest. I didn’t even know there WAS a Child Abuse Prevention Month. I’m wondering how many other people here didn’t know either.”

Now one might think that having someone admit that they had never even heard of CAPM would make me wonder just how effective my campaign branding efforts had been, at least in regards to THIS particular campaign. But when it comes to the subject of child abuse, I’m sort of used to the fact that people sometimes prefer to be unaware.

I smiled and said, “Ya know, from the looks on their faces as I was speaking, I’d guess none of them knew. But I’ll tell you what. They know now.”

That’s often been the challenge of promoting and branding CAPM. It’s a REALLY tough sell. It doesn’t quite have the capacity to rally the masses like so many other causes. Take Breast Cancer Awareness Month, for example. Breast cancer is equally as tragic as child abuse. Both are deadly. But breast cancer is easier to talk about because almost everyone knows someone who has fallen victim to the disease. Every October, we celebrate those courageous women (and men) we proudly call survivors while we remember those whose lives were taken by the unforgiving monster.

Conversely, very few people are all that comfortable talking about child abuse. It’s one of those social ills which makes people squirm. Most of us can’t even fathom the mere idea of causing such unimaginable harm to any child, let alone one of our own. It’s just too difficult of a thought to even ponder. But it’s here. It’s just as real as breast cancer. So we MUST ponder it. And just as with breast cancer, we must do what we can to prevent it.
Prevent it? How the heck do you prevent something as widespread and as unimaginable as child abuse? I know…I get that question a lot. I was talking to a friend of mine recently about Tennyson’s CAPM campaign efforts. He looked confused and said, “I don’t mean to sound jaded, but isn’t that like saying you’re going to try and prevent anyone from ever getting murdered again?”

Believe me, I “get” what he’s saying. It does seem an insurmountable task—even an impossible one. But then again, think of all the things over the course of our history which seemed impossible. Electricity. Airplanes. Man on the moon. Wi-fi. The laptop on which I’m writing this. All seemingly impossible at some point in our history. But we’re a remarkable people. We’re problem-solvers. We keep trying until we succeed.

OK, so preventing another child from ever being abused again may be a bit tougher than the technological developments which led to wi-fi. But if we didn’t keep trying, I’d likely be pulling a Fred Flintstone, writing this with a chisel on a stone tablet.

Like everything that has led to our advancements as a society, it begins with awareness of the problem followed by educating ourselves on how to work through it and make it better. Helping to prevent child abuse is no different. Child abuse is a often the result of an unbroken cycle. It’s learned behavior. As Bob Cooper (our illustrious CEO) often says, “About 85% of how we parent is the result of how we were parented. Abuse is usually learned behavior and the propensity to abuse is passed on from generation to generation.” At Tennyson Center, we not only heal the emotional wounds inflicted upon these wonderful kids, we also work with the family to break the cycle of abuse through educating moms and dads with effective parenting skills which were likely never learned from their own parents.

Child abuse prevention is far from a perfect science, but that’s one way it’s done. And it works.
OK, let’s talk facts for a moment. While CAPM is a national campaign, our objective here at Tennyson Center is to create a sense of awareness right here in our home state of Colorado of the dire situation facing far too many of our kids. Every year in the Rocky Mountain state, an average of 25 children die from abuse or neglect. There are more than 70,000 reports of child abuse and neglect in Colorado. Of those, more than 20,000 cases are confirmed. One might think that means that the other 50,000 cases were deemed NOT to be abuse.

Unfortunately, that’s not necessarily the case. Colorado’s child welfare system has long been underfunded and understaffed, so our counties rarely have the resources they need to adequately investigate, let alone act upon, each and every report of abuse. And with even more recent budget cuts, let’s just say that the situation isn’t getting any better.

And that’s one way you can make a difference. State and federal funding continues to dwindle, even though the numbers of children who are abused continues to rise. YOU are the difference. I know you have a charitable heart. Wanna help? I know it sounds “simple”, but make a donation. Think about it. If 1,000 people read this blog and every one of them were to make a mere $10 donation, that would be $10,000 which would go directly to serving the kids and families in our care. The result would be therapy, education, food, clothing and shelter for countless abused children—and many families receiving the necessary counseling and therapy they so desperately need which, in return, would break that cycle of abuse we talked about earlier. That’s what your ten bucks could buy. THAT’S how you can make a difference. Of course, if you want to give fifty or a hundred, that would be even better.

We’ve all heard the expression, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” It was one of my mom’s favorites. Just for kicks and giggles, I Googled the meaning of that saying. Here’s what I found: “The meaning, in brief, is that if we prevent a problem occurring in the first place, it will save a great deal more in time, effort and cost than it would in trying to repair the damage done later because we hadn’t paid attention to possible problems earlier.”

Bingo.

Children who have been abused and who don’t get the treatment they need are more likely to wind up being drains on our society later in life. They are more likely to resort to criminal behavior. They are more likely to depend on public assistance in order to survive. And they are MUCH more likely to abuse their own children, thus allowing the cycle of abuse to permeate and, as a result, to pass this “learned” behavior on to yet another generation.

OK. Back to the solution to the problem. I already mentioned the $10 donation thing. It’s worth another mention. C’mon. It’s ten bucks. It’ll save and change lives. And there are two ways you can do that. You can make one-time donation on your cell phone by texting the word CHILD (it’s not case sensitive, so it doesn’t matter how you type it) to 50555. Or you can go to http://www.childabuse.org/donate and make a safe and secure online donation.

Another way is to help us spread the word. Social media is a powerful communication tool. Post it on Facebook. Tweet about it. Not a fan of Facebook or Twitter? Then use the old-fashioned method—actual verbal communication—and talk about it to your friends, your family and your co-workers. The point is to make people aware of the problem. This is not a time to remain silent. The more we talk about it, the more people will want to be part of the solution to save children’s lives.

Finally, get involved. Government funding for our entire child welfare system continues to be cut across the board. We need to let our legislators know that the more we cut, the more our kids are at risk. The welfare of our children MUST become more of a political priority. Tell your congressional representative that you won’t stand for any more cuts to the system.

So, there you have it. That’s how you prevent child abuse. Remember, it’s about saving lives. And isn’t that what really matters?

Cell phones…true marvels of modern technology. I still remember like it was yesterday how fascinated and excited I was when I got my first cellular phone many moons ago. The mere idea that I had instant global communication with me at all times was almost mind-boggling. I wanted to let everyone know about my newest technological toy, so I pulled out my trusty address book (you know, the old-fashioned ones in which you actually wrote down someone’s name and number on a piece of paper) and started making calls. I think I must have called fifty people within the first hour of cell phone ownership…co-workers, friends, neighbors and of course, family, including a few aunts and cousins with whom I hadn’t talked in nearly a decade---and even one or two second cousins (the ones you’ve only met once or twice), whose numbers I had acquired somehow, most likely from my late mother’s address book which I had inherited after her passing. I don’t think it comes as a surprise that the conversations with the second-cousins I barely knew didn’t go so well. Here’s an example:

ME: “Hello, Marlene??? It’s your second cousin, Dave!!!"

THEM: “Huh?  Who?”

ME: “Dave Sevick…I’m your cousin. Well, your second cousin…in Denver…used to live in Michigan. My mom and your dad were cousins." 

THEM: "Wait a minute…WHO is this again?”

ME:  "I’m Betty’s son…you know, your dad’s cousin Betty? OK, well anyway, just wanted to call and let you know that I got a cell phone and I wanted to give you the number.”

THEM:  "So, you're selling phones?"

ME:  "No, no, no…I'm not selling phones, I GOT a cell phone.  Look, I met you about ten years ago at someone’s wedding…I think it was your sister, maybe your brother…I really can’t remember. Listen, the reason I called is that I just wanted to give you my new cell phone number!”

THEM:  "I already have a cell phone.  Thanks, but not interested."  (firmly and loudly) *CLICK*.

Oh well.  Who knows?  Maybe it was a poor signal.  After all, back then cell phone reception was far worse than it is today.  Regardless, I was too excited about my new cell phone to be bothered by the fact that my very distant cousin, whom I had only met once, had just hung up on me. So, I just moved on to the next number in the ol’ address book. Happy to say that I had better luck with other relatives than I did with Cousin Marlene.

That was back in the days when most mobile phones were only slightly smaller than their early ancestor, the infamous ‘brick phone’. And we all know how quickly the technology has evolved. In fact, it wasn’t too long after I got my first cell phone that texting became all the rage. The past decade has almost been like a continuous communication revolution or, as I like to call it, “the cell phone revolution evolution.”

Now we’re in the days of the smart phone. We can do almost anything: talk, text, take and send pictures, download music, surf the web, play games, watch TV, locate our friends, tap into a GPS satellite for directions, even find a date. Yep, there’s an app for that. 

Well, now you can add one more thing to the list of things you can do using your cell phone: you can make a difference in the life of a child. That’s right. Until now texting has never had such a noble purpose, thanks to our good friends at the mGive Foundation.

Remember earlier this year when so many of us helped the Haiti earthquake relief fund using our cell phones?  Well, now you can change the life of an abused or neglected child using your cell phone, with a simple $10 donation to Tennyson Center for Children which will help accomplish two important goals: it will be a powerful weapon in the fight against child abuse and neglect and it will help to heal the children who have already fallen victim to this horrible monster. 

It’s quite possibly the easiest thing you’ll ever do to make such powerful impact on someone else’s life.  And what’s even more impactful is that the “someone” whose life you’re changing is a child.

All you have to do is pull out your cell phone and text the word CHILD to the number 50555. Once you hit the ‘send’ button, you’ll receive a reply text asking you to confirm your donation by texting the word YES. Your donation, which will appear as a $10 charge on your monthly cell phone bill, won’t be complete without that important second step, so don’t forget to wait for and respond to the confirmation reply text.

To find out more about mobile giving for Tennyson Center, check out the new section of our website specifically devoted to this new marvel of modern, philanthropic technology.

Look, we use our cell phones for so many different things these days. Why not use it for something that REALLY matters? 

I have known the Colorado Christian Home my whole life.  Now called Tennyson Center for Children, this organization has been around me in one form or another for as far back as my memory will comfortably allow.
Beginning sometime in the 1950’s, my father was a volunteer in Devita cottage, working with the boys who lived there at the time.  That’s when Devita – now our oldest building – was new.  My mother served on the board of directors in the 1970’s, including a stint as chair, when I was young and impressionable.  In fact, to this day, I associate the iconic symbol of the agency with my mom – I believe she had a lapel pin with the symbol that she wore for many years.  I have vague recollections of coming to “the home” (as my dad still refers to it) when I was very young, walking the halls, visiting Don Brewer’s office and his Mickey Mouse collection.  And for some reason, I still associate the smell of institutional coffee with the “old” CCH…and because of that, I always thought it was fitting (and a strange coincidence!) that Don’s last name was Brewer.

TCC has been the central charity in our family.  My parents have attended all but a couple of the 33 annual Denver Dinner fundraising events.  I grew up knowing the Tilsley family, the patriarch of which is the namesake for Tilsley cottage on campus.  My childhood church was part of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) with whom Tennyson has a long formal, and now less formal, connection.
Despite all of these connections and its familiarity, as an adult, I had never made my own personal commitment to TCC.  And I certainly never imagined that I would end up working here!  After all – the place is filled with social workers!  What would the agency ever want with a business guy like me?

Well, about a year ago, after spending several years working for an eclectic blend of organizations, I joined Tennyson Center in the role of Chief Financial Officer.  My arrival here was unexpected, to say the least, and unquestionably the result of a series of events one can only attribute to some higher power, for which I am grateful.

This past year has been one of the best in my professional life.  Unlike so many other workplaces, the people here are truly committed to the mission and universally a very good group of people.  The place has a vibe – a natural energy – that I hadn’t experienced before.  It really is ‘all about the kids’ here and sharing that common purpose with so many others is pretty rewarding.  I don’t get to spend much time directly with the kids, but just seeing them in the hallway everyday reminds me of my own kids – how lucky they are – and how needed WE are for all the little souls that are here everyday.

I am grateful for the chance to carry on a family commitment to Tennyson – from the inside.  I hope that my contributions of ideas, time and energy outweigh any financial contributions I make.  As you know, child welfare is not an industry flush with cash.  Indeed, belts continue to tighten.  And so, it’s with excitement and anticipation that I look forward to working alongside the great folks here to continue finding innovative ways to run the “business” side of Tennyson and ensure its presence for 100 more years at 29th & Tennyson and in homes throughout the front range communities we serve.

Eric Martin

Volunteers play a critical role in the care and treatment of the kids at Tennyson Center for Children.  Help from the community  is a key component to the success of the work we do. The effects of child abuse on a community are long-lasting, so it’s important for everyone to be an integral part of the healing process of the kids we serve.

Tennyson Center for Children recently witnessed the caring spirit in action among young adults in our community. A great example last week came from Mountain Vista High School. Each year in early February the school enjoys Hero Week, where students and faculty participate in a number of activities which help to celebrate that caring spirit.  And each year, the student body selects a Cause-of-Choice to help raise community awareness about a variety of important issues. This year, MVHS chose Tennyson Center for Children from among numerous other charities which had been nominated. And we are truly honored (and, to be honest, a bit blown away!!!) to report that the student body of MVHS raised---DRUM ROLL PLEASE---$7,000 for Tennyson Center for Children!!!!

That spirit continued to thrive among the students at Regis high School this week as they completed their Community Service projects on our campus. Here are some encouraging words they shared over the two week period they spent on campus here at TCC. Our kids loved the one-on-one attention and mentoring they received in their classrooms and with their after school projects.

Joseph: Can't find a better place for these kids. Staff is excelent, volunters are great, and TCC wouldn't be this amazing with out the wounderful children attending this fantasctic establishment.(Go 104!)
Pierce: I have to say that from what I've seen in my work at the Tennyson center that the kids are really having fun and learning and there is no doubt in my mind that this place is a wonderful environment for these children to grow up in. I hope to be able to do more for this awesome place.
Max: I've been working at the Tennyson Center this past week and this current week, and I have to say, this place does wonderful things. The things they do for these kids are amazing, and I know for sure that I'll be back to volunteer in the summer!
Vince: I have also been here these past two weeks, and this place is full of nice surprises. In my time there, I've met an amazing artist and a very good poet. I was given an amazingly detailed pencil drawing and I was allowed to read several great poems. Anyone would be shocked by how good of an environment it is.
Nate: I've spent the last two weeks there and I have had a great time. It seems lime every kid I meet is having a great time! I could not be happier for them.

We are not only honored to have the support of today’s youth but we are also comforted to know that the world of tomorrow is going to be in such capable and caring hands.

To find out more about volunteering opportunities at TCC go to www.childabuse.org/volunteer

Initially, I tried to tell this tale with a little less verbosity.  But it lost a bit of its 'ummphh' when I attempted to introduce a bit of brevity.  So, as is rather common in the world of blogging, we'll do this in two parts.  This, my friends, is part one. 

My late mother used to say, "Half the fun is in the journey."  Well, it's been a long journey.  Eleven months ago, the Tennyson Center board of directors first heard our initial proposal for a plan which included not only a complete redesign of our website, but also the implementation of an advanced software package designed to totally engage those who support our agency, our mission and, most importantly, the children we serve.

It was a rather daunting plan---one which, if approved, would mean countless extended work days and many weekends spent in the office, not to mention a great deal of stress and aggravation in order to bring it to fruition.  But, as one of America's leaders in the treatment and education of abused, neglected and at-risk kids, it was time for childabuse.org and Tennyson Center for Children to evolve their presence on the internet to a higher level---an interactive level.  After all, we were now in the realm of what the totally web-savvy among us were calling 'Web 2.0'.  Don't worry...I didn't know what the heck that was either until not all that long ago.

OK.  So, I'm no genius but I like to think I'm a fairly knowledgable and educated man.  However, when I began my initial research on the advanced components of the software packages we needed to realize our dream, I became cognizant of just how much of a software moron I really was.  "You're never too old to learn" was another of mom's annoying, little sayings.  So I took it to heart and became a sponge.  I absorbed as much information on the topic as I could in a very short period of time.  I'm still by no means an expert, but on the software-knowledge IQ scale I think I rose from 'feeble-minded' to 'above average'.  Not a bad progression, I suppose...but if it's all the same to you, I'd prefer not to take a quiz on it.

With the help of board members Laura Love and James Young, our proposal had its final, formal presentation to the Tennyson board in April.  The timeline in the proposal included the words 'fast track'.   It was imperative that the new site and all of its interactive features be operational before the holiday fundraising season kicked in.  So, if all went according to plan, we'd launch the new web package no later than November of '09. The clock was ticking.

I was elated when I got the call that Tennyson's board of directors had approved the plan.  That sense of elation lasted about...oh, say...maybe an hour. Then reality began to set in. You know how it is when you undertake a project in which you strongly believe.  The passion of our beliefs is often the driving force behind our actions and we don't always do a full analysis of our abilities to accomplish our goals within a very finite period of time prior to commencing work on such a project.  "Live and learn."  Another of my mom's rather profound expressions.

By approving the proposal, our board was essentially saying, "We have total faith in this team!"  And although that was reassuring, it was also cause for a bit of reflection on what we were about to undertake.  "Can we actually pull this off in a few months?  What the heck were we thinking???"  Those were the questions I found rolling around in my head.  I knew we had an INCREDIBLE team who would be putting this project together, but I found myself swimming in those moments of self-doubt we all encounter from time to time.  And as the manager of this project, I remembered that I'm not that good of a swimmer. 

But there was no time for doubt of any kind.  It was time to move forward and dive in (yet another reference to my inadequate swimming skills).  I remembered what mom used to say to my siblings and me during those tough times when we were lacking a bit in the self-confidence department: "Believe in yourself and you can accomplish almost anything."  As a kid, my response to that was usually something along the lines of, "Gee...thanks, mom. But easier said than done."  Nonetheless, my Tennyson teammates and I adopted the motto, "Failure is NOT an option."  Yikes!

More in "Part 2"...

Continued from Part 1...

Working with a team of talented designers at Red Door Interactive, software developers at Blackbaud who possessed such an advanced level of knowledge and expertise that in spite of everything I had learned during my sponge phase, they often made me feel like a blithering idiot, and THE BEST team here at Tennyson that anyone could ever ask for (I'll mention them by name in a bit...they deserve more than a mere mention), we began the process of taking Tennyson Center for Children and childabuse.org to an entirely new level of existence on the internet.

Yes, there were headaches.  Yes, that 'fast track' timeline we had set for ourselves provided for many moments of immense frustration.  Yes, the ol' ulcer even kicked in from time to time. It was during those moments when I relied on the words of my mom (again), with another of her little sayings: "This, too, shall pass." 

It's funny because when we were kids, my siblings and I used to roll our eyes at our seemingly very un-cool mother as she persistently delivered those expressions, words of wisdom and colloquialisms.  She was the Confucious of Swartz Creek, Michigan. "Never put off 'til tomorrow what you can do today." "A watched pot never boils." "A stitch in time saves nine." By the way, I still have no clue what that last one means.  But I find myself using it from time to time, if only to make people wonder if I know something they don't.  I have since realized that my mom was much wiser (and cooler) than I ever gave her credit for during my childhood.  But I digress. 

Mom was right (she almost always was).  It did pass.  And it started to become fun...still intense, but fun.  An incredible amount of work, but fun---and important.  Because I began to remember what this was and is all about.  It's about the kids.  It's about the mission of Tennyson Center and making as many people as possible in the community aware of the ABSOLUTELY AMAZING work being done every day at TCC.  And it's about getting as many people as possible fully engaged in that effort.  We've all heard the expression (no, this wasn't one of my mom's), "It takes a village to raise a child."  Well, it takes an entire community of caring individuals working together in support of our mission to mend the emotionally wounded children we serve.

There were a few delays along the way which crunched that 'fast track' timeline a bit.  But those delays simply motivated us to work even harder to ensure we launched the new site on schedule.  So, here we are.  Our brand new and completely interactive website at childabuse.org is finally done.  In spite of the headaches, stress and the many additional hours our team had to put into this project to make it happen, it has truly been a labor of love.  Yeah, we've still got a few wrinkles to iron out.  But that's to be expected with any project of this magnitude.  By the way, we very much appreciate your patience while we tackle the 'little things' on our to-do list.  After all, mom also used to say, "Patience is a virtue." 

So I invite you to peruse the pages of our site, especially those within the all-new Tennyson Community section, where you can sign up and become a more active member of the wonderful Tennyson family.  Membership (which is, of course, free) lets you participate on an entirely new level of support for our mission including personal tribute pages, memorial pages, team fundraising, online event registration, discussion boards and subscribing to the Tennyson blogspot, just to name a few.  We'll feature blogs from several Tennyson staffers and board members who serve the agency in a variety of capacities.  It's fun, it's interesting...and it's important.

I also encourage you to make a donation to support the work we do here at TCC.  You can find the 'donate now' buttons throughout our site or simply click here.  You make our work possible and, as a result, you are the key that opens the door of opportunity and hope for the children we serve.

Because, remember, it's about the kids.  They're the reason we're here.  And by working together, we'll continue to help them heal, to regain the trust they've lost not only in adults but also in themselves and to help them reclaim the childhood which was taken from them.

Oh...before I forget, I absolutely MUST take a moment to recognize and thank Nancy Slyter, Kristine Wolfe, Terry Martinez and Lisa Roebuck.  They are my teammates on this project and without their incredible sense of dedication, this new site would never exist.  Ladies, you rock!  I must also thank the always supportive Tennyson Center board of directors for their encouragement and faith in our team.

Of all my mother's profundities, probably my favorite is, "Anything worth doing is worth doing well."  Ahhhh, she was so right. 

Welcome to the all new Tennyson Center for Children website...and to the wonderful world of Web 2.0.