SAFEchild has expanded our cost-free, bilingual programs as Wake County has become one of the fastest-growing communities in the nation. The county is now the most populous in the state, and our public school system is North Carolina’s largest. The stress of the pandemic and a growing social acceptance that prevention and intervention help families create healthy relationships have spurred demand for SAFEchild’s services. More people are seeking support for postpartum mood disorders, strategies to manage anger and learn positive discipline techniques, and programs that help children learn to protect themselves.

SAFEchild currently operates in two locations. Neither SAFEchild property has adequate space, which limits program potential and restricts mission fulfillment. The new, unified location is easy to access with ample parking and is in close proximity to health and human services and public transportation.

SAFEchild’s new home supports our mission with a built-for-purpose design that meets immediate needs for expansion and is flexible for the future. The new 20,000-square-foot building has been designed in partnership with SAFEchild staff and with special attention to confidentiality and a child’s sense of security. The building more than doubles SAFEchild’s current square footage with flexible spaces that can be configured for program needs.

Adding space for the SAFEchild Advocacy Center is a high priority. In the new building, we will be able to see up to three children at a time, tripling the capacity and reducing the wait time. Our current physical space allows for only one child and family in the building at one time. The new facility will allow us to see up to 1,200 children annually in this space.

Generous champions have already led the way with significant contributions to the project, knowing our needs and understanding the impact this project will have in the community.

In addition to the generosity of WakeMed Health and Hospitals in leasing the property at $1 per year and covering costs to prepare the four-acre site for permitting and construction, we appreciate the early work of firms such as Gensler, Stewart, Heritage Properties, and Whiting-Turner to develop designs and realistic building cost estimates. Local fundraising consulting firm moss+ross developed the campaign plan.

The Board decided the best path forward for two primary reasons: service to meet increasing demand and an ideal location offered by WakeMed Health and Hospitals. 1) Neither of the current SAFEchild properties has adequate space, resulting in a lengthy waiting list at the Advocacy Center and limiting program potential and mission fulfillment. The new, unified location is designed for purpose and meets immediate needs for expansion, with flexibility for the future. 2) WakeMed Health and Hospitals, a long-time healthcare partner, is leasing a perfectly located new property for $1 per year and is covering costs to prepare the four-acre site for permitting and construction.

Child abuse can be prevented. SAFEchild breaks harmful parenting patterns through education, support, and outreach, in both English and Spanish. In addition to the Advocacy Center, SAFEchild programs are:

• Moms Supporting Moms – Support and mentoring to expectant and postpartum mothers and their families.
• MOVE (Mothers Overcoming Violence through Empowerment and Education) – Hope and healing for mothers who have endured domestic violence in an intimate relationship.
• Circle of Security – Strengthening the parent/child bond by instilling a sense of security.
• Crianza Con Cariño – SAFEchild’s Spanish-language parent education program.
• MENS (Men Engaged in Nurturing Strategies) – Helping fathers recognize the adverse impact that domestic violence has on their children.
• Funny Tummy Feelings – A school-based child abuse prevention program for first graders in Wake County.
• The Growing Resilience Movement – A partnership of youth-serving organizations, the faith community, government agencies and parents working together to strengthen our community and protect children by understanding and mitigating risk factors for abuse and other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) while building resilience.

As the only local nonprofit child abuse prevention organization, SAFEchild empowers families with respect and dignity while fostering positive parenting behaviors and breaking generational cycles of abuse. We connect families to community resources that can help address health inequities, food insecurity, maternal health, and other issues that create stress in a family’s life.

Gifts and pledges can be made by completing the Champion Our Children campaign pledge form. Payments can be made over a period of three years by check, credit card, automatic draft, stock/securities and other assets such as donor-advised funds.

If you prefer to pay your gift at one time by credit card, find that form here.

If you need further assistance, please contact us on this form.

The Champion Our Children campaign builds a new home for SAFEchild to expand programs, strengthen families, and protect more children from the trauma of abuse. In a new building on Kidd Road near WakeMed’s Raleigh campus, SAFEchild will serve children, families, and the community in one facility designed specifically for programs, security, and confidentiality.