Active Waiting

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR:

IRENE VAN DER ZANDE

KIDPOWER

Julia Boyd

Special Topic in Entrepreneurship

Fall 2013

Dr. Kitty Campbell

ABSTRACT

Bullying is when an individual or a group of people repeatedly and intentionally cause hurt or injury to another person or group of people who feel helpless to react. Bullying continues over time and is often hidden from adults. It will also probably continue if no action is taken to stop or prevent the bullying. This paper addresses Kidpowers’ efforts to reduce and remove bullying by educating children in how to stop most bullying. Adults are educated through leadership skills that are essential to stop bullying in families, schools, neighborhoods, and communities.

Due to a bullying incident aimed at my nephew, I contacted Kidpower to gather information regarding educational workshops and/or seminars. As an employee of the Choctaw Nation, I then contacted the director of our Choctaw Nation Youth Empowerment program. She is currently working with Kidpower and one of her departmental grants in order to set up conferences and seminars at schools within the 10 ½ counties of the Choctaw Nation. The staff at Kidpower was extremely knowledgeable and helpful and the email response to my personal situation was rapid and informative.

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On a field trip outing in 1985 with a group of young children, Irene van der Zande was faced with protecting the children from a man who charged towards them and threatened to take one of the children. Two of the children in the group were her own, so Irene put herself between the man and the children and began shouting for help. She was assisted by bystanders and the man was forced to leave. And even though she and the children were unhurt, Irene was disturbed by the incident and decided then to do something to help children build skills and confidence to take charge of their own safety.

Because of this incident, Irene brought together...