Learn about . . .
KIDTALK
KIDTALK
214
823 5555
The KIDTALK after-school
telephone line was established in 1985 to provide a warm, caring voice to
children who are home alone in the after-
school hours.
On any given night in Dallas, there are over 40,000 children under the
age of nine at home without any adult supervision.
Since its inception, the KIDTALK telephone line has answered over
151,542 calls from children who are lonely, scared or bored.
The KIDTALK line has always been answered by trained volunteers and
throughout its history, there has been a problem with volunteer retention;
soon after becoming KIDTALK volunteers, most people wanted more direct and
personal contact with children.
In the summer of 2001, the
council decided to reorganize the KIDTALK volunteer work force by
transitioning the program into a teen-run program that also focuses on the
employment and computer technology skills of the youth who answer the calls.
With the help of a grant from The Best Buy Children�s Foundation, the
council placed four paid and three volunteer teens in the KIDTALK program.
The teens were able to install donated, used computers in the six
KIDTALK workstations, install software, and set internet links to sites that
would be helpful to KIDTALK volunteers taking calls – sites like the
�Crayola Crayon� site that has safe and simple activities that children
can do at home.
Please
visit: KIDTALK’s
Martin
Luther King Page!
Sponsored,
in part, by
Best Buy!
The teens also
created a Web site that has historical information about Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. that will be used to teach computer skills to children in Camp Fire
programs and to help train future KIDTALK volunteers.
The next step is to increase the calls coming to KIDTALK by
distributing KIDTALK bookmarks and phone stickers to children through the
public school system.
KIDTALK was
highlighted in Somebody Cares: Model School-Age Programs for Latchkey
Children in Texas – 1988. KIDTALK also
received the 1988 “Program of the Year” award from the Texas
Collaboration for Youth.
Kids are encouraged
to write to us as well as call. Mail can be sent to:
KIDTALK
4411 Skillman
Dallas, Texas 75206
OR
Email: [email protected]
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| Camp Fire USA is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit youth development organization. The Lone Star Council is a United Way agency. |