The Young Women's Christian Association USA has responded to the recent school killings by expanding an initiative that encourages parents, teachers and carers to engage with children in positive expressions of anger.
The YWCA's "When I Get Mad I Draw" contest has been expanded from the small scale to the national level and is intended to give kids the opportunity to show the ways in which they express their feelings of anger.
"What better place to start than with teaching our own children how to better deal with their emotions?" asked Lorraine Cole, CEO of YWCA USA.
"The recent shootings are a horrific reminder of the violence that we face in our society far too often."
The art contest is open to children between the ages of 3 and 16 and will be a core feature of the YWCA's Week Without Violence campaign (15 to 21 October 2006).
A wider aspect of the contest will focus on discussion between parents, carers and teachers and the children on ways to deal with anger as well as how to cope with violence.
The YWCA Week Without Violence also sees the first fruit of the YWCA's new relationship with TiVo Inc., the creator and a leader in television services for digital video recorders that will support the YWCA's work at more than 1,300 locations and also sponsors the contest.
As part of the weeklong observance, the YWCA will help educate parents and caregivers about the new TiVo KidZone service feature which enables parents to ensure that their children are watching programmes they have pre-approved on live or recorded TV. It creates an exclusive area within the TiVo service for children to enjoy these selections, while hiding all other content from view.
"TiVo KidZone is an innovative and easy to use tool to help parents and caregivers cope in an era of excessively violent programming" said Cole. She added, "While we can't stop all violence, parents can control their children's access to media in their homes and find quality educational video content suitable for their families."
The YWCA is the oldest and largest multicultural women's organisation in the world with more than 25 million members in 122 countries, including 2.6 million members and participants in 300 local associations in the US.
