Santa Cruz
– Fran Thole of Santa Clara has been named Silicon Valley
Coordinator of KidPower, an international nonprofit organization
headquartered in Santa Cruz, which has trained more than 150,000
people worldwide in violence and abuse prevention and
self-protection.
Santa Cruz – Fran Thole of Santa Clara has been named Silicon Valley Coordinator of KidPower, an international nonprofit organization headquartered in Santa Cruz, which has trained more than 150,000 people worldwide in violence and abuse prevention and self-protection.
Emphasizing services from Gilroy to Palo Alto, Thole will help mobilize the extension of two KidPower initiatives bringing safety training classes and workshops to children ages 3 to 8 as well as residents of all ages with disabilities.
“Law enforcement and crime prevention agencies estimate that more than 100,000 children each year will become victims of attempted kidnappings by strangers and one in three girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused before age 18,” Thole says. “However, the good news is that the simple, effective skills we teach will work to deter violence and abuse most of the time.”
Created in 1989 with the help of experts in education, mental health, child development, martial arts, rape crisis intervention, child safety, and law enforcement, KidPower helps people of “all ages and abilities learn how to stay safe and act wisely” according to Irene van der Zande, KidPower executive director and co-founder.
In addition to more than 20 years as a classroom teacher in Santa Clara and Cupertino, Thole has been Director of the San Jose Film Festival; an instructor/counselor at De Anza College; and project and educational consultant for nonprofit and community art organizations in Santa Clara County.
Thole is a graduate of San Jose State University, where she earned a B.A. in Journalism and conducted graduate studies in the Department of Education.
She holds a Masters Degree in Education from U.S. International University, a program she completed in London.
