Community Empowerment Series 2014

Our children are our future leaders, we have to empower them.

St. Johns County, Florida is listed as the number one school district in the state of Florida. They are also home to The Community Empowerment Series.

St. Augustine High School, on Saturday March 29th, will be the place to be!

Starting at 9:00am will be National speakers and authors that teachers, parents, students and the entire community will be learning from about topics that are important today.

These topics are:

Bullying, cyberbullying, cyber safety, stranger danger, body image and peer pressure.

This event is FREE to the public!  Online registration is now open!

Community Empowerment Series: Internet Safety and Cyberbullying

Leading Cyber Expert Theresa Payton will be coming to St. Johns County on Saturday, April 27th!

In the final session of the 2013 Community Empowerment Series, Theresa Payton will be discussing Internet safety, cyberbullying, cell phone safety, sexting, online identity theft and all aspects of digital security.

Whether you are 8 or 80, if you have a computer or cell phone, you should absolutely plan on attending this event if you live in North Florida - it is a FREE event to the public.  Presented by the St. Johns Education Foundation and Communities in Schools of St. Johns County, it is sponsored by The St. Augustine Record, First Coast News, Microsoft, Walmart, Blue Cross Blue Shield, AT&T, Herbie Wiles Insurance and many others. 

Where:  Nease High School
When:  Saturday, April 27th
Time:  Doors open at 9am (Event starts at 10:00 -noon)
Meet and greet Theresa Payton from noon until 1pm.

Sheriff Shoar will be introducing Theresa Payton and his team of Internet Safety Crime Unit will be there to answer community questions.

Books-A-Million will also be there selling Theresa Payton's new book, Protecting Your Internet Identity. 

Online registration is recommended.

For more information visit www.communityempowermentseries.com.

Community Empowerment Series II: Dr. Michele Borba

Michele signing books.

Dr. Michele Borba, Parenting and Bullying Prevention Expert, was featured at the Community Empowerment Series in St. Johns County on Saturday, March 9th, 2013.

It was a full house with parents, students, teachers, guidance counselors, principals, deans, therapists, kids that started anti-bullying programs and residents that wants to make a difference in our community.

If you didn’t know about bullying and how it effects children before this seminar, you certainly learned about it coming out of it.  Many were brought to tears hearing about the story of the young boy that hung himself.  Though many of us know that these are not isolated stories when children are teased and harassed relentlessly both online and off.

Dr. Borba opens her lecture by asking everyone to introduce themselves to the people around them.  Yes, let’s get to know our neighbors and be nice!

Dr. Borba would frequently ask the audience to stop, and take a minute to write down exactly what she just said and what it means to them.  What are they going to learn from this–how will they implement this into their life.  (Honestly, everyone was busy taking notes, but it was nice for her to take a break for a few seconds so we could catch up on our notes)  She is like a walking talking encyclopedia.

Bullying has been found to happen in four major hot spots at schools:

1. Cafeteria
2. Hallways
3. Bathrooms
4. Playground

Michele talking about bullying prevention.

As a matter of fact, over 43% of children fear going to the bathroom at school for fear of being bullied.  Every 7 minutes a child is bullied on a playground.

Dr. Borba recommends you speak with your kids about a P.L.A.N.:

P:  Pal up always have a friend with you
L:  Let an adult know if you are being bullied
A:  Avoid those hotspots
N:  Notice your surroundings, stay alert

If you see someone being teased or bullied or you are the victim, it is important to stay C.A.L.M. according to Dr. Borba:

C:  Calm down
A:  Assert – be assertive
L:  Look at  the bully eye to eye (Dr. Borba’s tip is to loo at the color of their eye’s)
M:  Mean it 

After her almost 2 hour speech, she took time to speak with students and the audience and signed books for people.

St. Augustine is anxious to have her back again next year!

Watch a preview here.

Community Empowerment Series: Session Three Internet Safety

St. Augustine, Fla.— St. Johns County is privileged to be featuring experts speaking on topics that empower us to keep our kids safe through the Community Empowerment Series. The final of three free sessions will be held on Saturday, April 27^th in the auditorium at Nease High School, and features nationally known internet security expert Theresa Payton.

Payton will talk about Internet Safety. This includes topics such as cyber-bullying, children’s identity theft, technology’s role in kids’ lives and sexting.  This final session of the Community Empowerment Series is especially crucial due to its effect on all ages.~ No one is immune to cyber-crimes and identity theft.

This is a free event, however interested attendees are strongly encouraged to register online to reserve a seat. Parents, students of all ages, grandparents, school counselors, educators and anyone who wants to make our community a safer place for kids will benefit from attending the series.

For more online registration, sponsorship opportunities and more information visit www.communityempowermentseries.com. A special thanks to The St. Augustine Record and First Coast News WTLV for sponsoring this series.

Community Empowerment Series: Session One Stacey Honowitz

Tickets on sale now!

Tickets on sale now!

State Attorney R.J. Larizza will be presenting Celebrity Speaker Stacey Honowitz on February 2nd at the World Golf Village IMAX Theater!

This is a must attend event.  The Community Empowerment Series is being presented by St. John County Education Foundation and Community in Schools of St. Johns County and sponsored by The St. Augustine Record and First Coast News.  This event is supported by the St. Johns Sheriff's Department.

In the light of the recent event in Newtown, CT, it proves no towns are immune to bad things happening in them.  Opening our CES with a topic of stranger danger, sexual predators and talking to our kids about private parts is critical today.  These can be difficult subjects for parents, however our expert, Stacey Honowitz, will give our community the tools we need to help empower us to be safer and stronger as a community.

St. Johns County is privileged to be featuring celebrity parenting experts that will be speaking on topics that will empower us to continue to have one of the best counties in Florida. The three forums will be held in February, March and April and will feature some of the leading experts in the field of parenting, cyber bullying, online predators, and much more.

Tickets for the three events can be purchased online at www.communityempowermentseries.com.
Parents are encouraged to bring their children, and grandparents, school counselors, educators and anyone that wants to make our community a safer place for kids should attend the series.

The purpose of the Community Empowerment Series is to strengthen our community and enrich our parents, teachers and everyone working with our children to be safer and kinder- both online and off. This series is providing parents with how-to’s on some of the most important issues facing children today.

The three part series will be held at the IMAX Theatre in World Golf Village. Stacey Honowitz, who has been featured on Good Morning America, Larry King Live, and Dateline NBC, will be speaking on February 2^nd about the media and sex cases, along with how to talk to young kids about private parts. Session two will take place on March 9^th and will feature Dr. Michele Borba speaking on peer pressure, bullying and cyber-stalking. Dr. Borba has authored dozens of books and has made appearances on Dr. Phil, The View, The Doctors, FOX News and many more. Theresa Payton will lead session three on April 27^th and will talk about internet safety. Payton is a former White House Chief Information Officer and has a weekly segment on North Carolina’s WBTV about protecting your cyberturf.

For more sponsorship information and more information visit www.communityempowermentseries.com.

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The St. Johns County Education Foundation is recognized as the direct support organization for the St. Johns County School District.  The SJCEF leads efforts to provide funding opportunities, support initiatives that enhance public education and recognize and inspire teachers and students within St. Johns County.  For more information, please visit www.sjcef.com or visit Facebook and Twitter pages.

Community Empowerment Series (CES)

Education is knowledge and power that help us to keep our kids safe.

St. Johns County, Duval, Clay, Putnam, Nassau and Flagler all welcome three renown experts to World Golf Village.

Presented by St. Johns County Education Foundation and Communities in Schools, The Community Empowerment Series will cover topics that parents, educators and everyone that are involved in today's youth are concerned about.

• Sexual predators, and how to talk to your kids about private parts and stranger danger.
• The social jungle that kids are facing today. From peer pressure to bullying and cyberbullying.
• Importance of digital safety and the critical topic of teaching our kids and especially teens today about how to protect themselves from identity theft.

For these three topics we have brought in the country's leading experts. You may have seen them on your TV and also read their books!

Session one: Stacey Honowitz, who has served twenty years in the Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Unit of the State Attorney’s Office, will be speaking about sex crimes in Florida and the sentences that they carry. She will also be addressing how to talk to your young kids about private parts.
Session two: Dr. Michele Borba is one of the most popular parenting experts in our country and the bullying prevention expert. She will have a workshop on the Social Jungle our kids are dealing with today, from peer pressure to bullying. Her speaking topics will include friends, cliques, relational aggression, cyberbullies, bullies and peer pressure. Watch the video.
Session three: Theresa Payton will discuss the importance of digital safety, identity theft with kids, and technology in today’s world as it concerns our children. There will also be deep discussion on how to create, maintain and protect a healthy digital identity for all family members, adults and children alike.

All three of these speakers are nationally recognized in their field and have been on many media outlets. We are honored they are coming to our community to help empower us with knowledge to keep our kids safe and our families educated in a society that is ever changing.

Tickets are limited. They are reasonably priced.
If you are a business or individual that would like to sponsor or be a vendor at these events, please visit our "Getting Involved" page. There are opportunities for everyone!

Don't miss these exciting educational and fun events! 

Visit www.communityempowermentseries.com for more information on the dates, times and all the details!

Pass this on to your friends, family, and neighbors!

Community Empowerment Series

St. Johns County Florida is getting ready for 2013 in a big way!

Starting February 2, 2013 will be a lecture series that will be like no other.

Celebrity speakers on parenting topics that can't be missed, will have limited tickets.  This event will be held at The World Golf Village Hall of Fame IMAX Theater.

Starting immediately we are accepting sponsors.  You won't want to miss this opportunity!

The levels for individuals start at $100.00 and go as high as $10,000.00 for corporate sponsors.

Please check our site for the benefits of sponsorship levels.

I am personally proud to be part of St. Johns Education Foundation and Communities in Schools for St. Johns County.  Both are excellent organizations that are always putting our kids first.

Click here to visit Community Empowerment Series and visit our renown speakers!

February 2, 2013: Stacey Honowitz
March 9, 2013: Michele Borba
April 27, 2013: Theresa Payton