Beau Biden foundation launches child protection initiative
One year after the death of Beau Biden, his family is using his legacy to take action. On the anniversary of Beau’s death, the Vice President sayid it’s taken time to deal with his son’s death, but the family decided to move forward and focus on what Beau lived for. That’s why Beau’s foundation to protect children is teaming up with The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the Boys and Girls club of Delaware to make not only Beau’s state, but his country safer.
“Our common goal is what Beau’s life mission was, to protect children. And we all believe in that we all believe there is a mission, we all believe it’s possible to stop child abuse and make sure all of our children are safe and together. We can do that.” Patty Dailey Lewis tells 47ABC. Lewis is the executive director of Beau’s foundation, who along with other child protection groups are working together to implement a two pronged initiative.
One teaches the children safety on the internet. Not just safety either, because they do not want the children to fear the internet, but they also teach them how to use the internet responsibly as a tool for learning. The other part of the initiative is making sure a child ID kit is as common in any home as any other emergency items like a fire extinguisher, smoke alarm, and first aid kit. Michelle Delaune is the Chief Operations Officer of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, based out of Alexandria, Va. She says having the ID kit saves crucial time, especially in the beginning of an emergency involving a child. “Having a child ID kit is really important for parents. When children to go missing there is a lot of anxiety and parents really need to have one quick place they can go to and grab this information.” Delaune proclaimed.
With the program being launched in Beau’s name, what a better platform to facilitate the programs that the Boys & Girls Club of Delaware, a club that Beau himself helped grow and cultivate. John Wellons is the Chief of Staff for the Boys & Girls Club, and he says Beau played a large part of bringing the organization to where it is today. “We serve over 30,000 kids a year, with more than 3,000 a day in our centers throughout the state from Claymont to Laurel and over to Rehoboth, so we’re a great vehicle for that foundation.” Wellons explains to 47ABC.
More information on the foundation can be found on the organizations respective websites.
