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BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF GARDEN GROVE AND SPRINT HOST INTERNET SAFETY EVENT FOR KIDS

Garden Grove, Calif., (Feb. 8, 2010) – Boys & Girls Clubs of Garden Grove and Sprint are teaming up to host an Internet and Media safety fair to teach parents and youth simple precautions to help children have a safer online experience.  On March 5, from 6:30-8:30 p.m., attendees will hear how to safely and effectively use today’s technological resources at the main branch located at 9860 Larson Street. This event is free and open to the public.

Boys & Girls Club of Garden Grove’s teen leadership club, Keystone, will teach the other students about the benefits of the internet.  They will also highlight how important it is to use the Internet the right way and to protect themselves in all of their online activities.  Youth will participate in activities that replicate the online experience.  Students will learn the negative effects of registering for online contests, how posting content may affect their future, and the realism that you never know who might be on the other side, whether it’s a stranger or some kind of virus.

Today’s children are ever-connected to the endless world of technology that they have at their fingertips.  That’s why, with the increasingly tech-savvy world that children are living in, teaching youth to be cautious when using technology is extremely important.  From cyberbullying to texting inappropriate images to cheating with technology, the event will provide Boys & Girls Clubs of Garden Grove and Sprint an opportunity to address the various issues that affect today’s youth. Together with Sprint, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Garden Grove hope to empower Club members to be cautious users of the Internet and other technologies so they can have a safer and informative experience using the wealth of knowledge at their disposal.

“Often parents’ hectic schedules do not allow them adequate time to monitor their children’s online activities,” said Pat Halberstadt, Chief Professional Officer, Boys & Girls Clubs of Garden Grove.  “Boys & Girls Clubs are committed to teaching young people how to safely and effectively use technology through our 4NetSafety partnership with Sprint.  We expect for not only our youth, but our parents to walk away from the event with useful information that can help them have an ongoing dialogue about online safety.” 

A Boys & Girls Club survey of young people found that more than half of those surveyed said their parents never ask them about whom they are talking to on the Internet and 55 percent said their parents never surfed the Internet with them – showing the need for Internet safety education for both youth and adults.

The event is part of Sprint’s 4NetSafety^SM program (www.4netsafety.com). 4NetSafety aims to open the lines of communication about Internet safety between young people and the adults who care for them. The online resource offers free tools from experts that address the perils that young people commonly encounter online and encourage positive dialogue about Internet safety. Sprint has partnered with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to bring 4NetSafety programming to Club members across the country. 

“Our partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America is a fundamental part of our focus on Internet safety for young people,” said Debby Ballard, director for Community Affairs for Sprint. “This partnership complements the rest of our 4NetSafety program by providing Boys & Girls Club members with valuable resources to help them stay safer online.”

ABOUT BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF GARDEN GROVE

For more than 50 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of Garden Grove (BGCGG) has helped kids “BE GREAT” by changing and saving young lives, playing an integral role in its community. Striving to help children succeed in life, the Boys & Girls Clubs provide hope and opportunity through after-school programs, family support and community outreach. Known as The Positive Place For Kids, our 57 program sites serve over 5,000 young people from “Diapers to Diplomas,” ages 18 months-18 years old, every day.

The Clubs are open daily with programs in character and leadership development, education and career enhancement, the arts, health and life skills, and sports, fitness and recreation. Our family outreach programs such as Family Campus Preschool, School Readiness, REACH For Literacy (Reading Education for Adults & CHildren), ARCHES (Access to Resources for Children's Health, Education and Support), FYOP (Family & Youth Outreach Program), and TRC (Truancy Reduction Center) expand our services to ensure that the needs of the whole child are met. Through our efforts we do our best to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Please visit www.begreatgardengrove.org for more information.

ABOUT SPRINT NEXTEL

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two wireless networks serving more than 48 million customers at the end of the third quarter of 2009 and the first and only 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; industry-leading mobile data services; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. The company’s customer-focused strategy has led to improved first call resolution and customer care satisfaction scores.  For more information, visit www.sprint.com.

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