NCJW/SHIELD Program

In 1984, Tamara Kreinin started and directed NCJW/JCC SHIELD, a child abuse prevention project. Through this effort, Kreinin dispatched over 250 volunteers to public, private, and parochial schools to put on anti-bullying and child abuse prevention programs. NCJW/JCC SHIELD worked with the police department and the state office of child protection, hospitals, and the media. Their aim was to educate children about what was “ok” and “not ok” and to teach them how to get help. “The use of our voice on behalf of youth was as critical as the time we spent with young people every day,” Kreinin said of working with NCJW/JCC SHIELD. “I learned how to organize, speak to the press, speak in public, recruit and supervise staff and volunteers, and most of all, I learned the city, every corner, every school, and every system that can impact a child.”

Another important lesson that Kreinin and NCJW/JCC SHIELD brought to the non-profit world was the idea that advocacy, organizing, and politics are all critical to services, especially high-quality services that reach those hardest to reach. Kreinin said, “I often had to report cases of abuse, [but] not enough happened. I realized the systems needed changing. It was not enough to provide information and services.”