POSTINGS | WINTER 2025

PEI Kids Celebrates 40 Years!

Established in 1985, PEI Kids turns 40 this year! An agency that started around a kitchen table with a single Child Assault Prevention program has grown into a thriving community-based institution with eight programs and dozens of community, government, school, and institutional partnerships that make our programs work so effectively.

We'll be unveiling new and exciting things during this ruby anniversary year,

including new programming, a rebranding campaign to update our logo/tagline, and our 40th anniversary gala on October 17th which will honor the people, places and organizations that have helped our community thrive over the years.

You can be part of the celebration starting now! Become a PEI Kids 40th Anniversary Super Sponsor. Check out the details here.

EAG Center Dedication

On an uncharacteristically warm fall evening in October, we celebrated the dedication of PEI Kids' new annex at 229 Lawrenceville Road.

The new Evelyn A. Gill (EAG) Center for Child & Family Wellness, which carries the namesake of our founding director, is home to our weekend Hotline and Crisis Center where we provide 1-on-1 counseling, advocacy, and victims' services for youth who've been impacted by community violence.

The Center and its services are designed to be a recovery site for young people who may be traumatized by violence and have nowhere to go for professional support on the weekends. Symptoms of trauma can emerge at any time, and the Hotline and Center's services are available 24 hours on the weekends -- from Friday (4PM) to Monday morning (8AM) -- when other providers may be unavailable.

Initial contact is typically made by calling or texting the Hotline number: 609.544.0620. Callers connect with a licensed counselor who will assess their needs and provide initial counseling support. All direct services are provided by licensed counselors, and free transportation is offered to youth who want to come to the Center for in-person counseling and additional support, such as advocacy or accompaniment for police or medical assistance, emergency shelter, development of a safety plan, or a host of other supportive services.

Click below to see photos from the Dedication event.

Photos

It's HT Prevention Month

January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month which brings together law enforcement, organizations, and everyday people to eliminate human trafficking.

Human trafficking exists in virtually every country, including in U.S. communities. According to UNICEF USA, “Human trafficking is the 2nd largest criminal industry in the world, reaping an estimated $32 billion in the trade of human beings,” putting it just behind the drug trade. Children, minority communities, and migrants are especially at risk to extreme forms of exploitation, including slavery and trafficking.

Join the effort to raise awareness and prevent human trafficking in your community. Click the links to learn indicators of HT, as well as myths, misconceptions, and what to do if you identify a victim of HT.

https://www.dhs.gov/blue.../indicators-human-trafficking

https://www.dhs.gov/blue.../myths-and-misconceptions

https://www.dhs.gov/blue.../identity-victim

News Clippings

We'd like to give a special shout-out to all who purchased items on our Holiday Wish List as well as our community partners at Bloomberg, Nottingham Insurance, and West Windsor-Plainsboro High School whose toy drives brought in hundreds of donated gifts.

Thanks to your generous donations of holiday cheer for the kids in our programs, we were able to fulfill many requests in their Letters to Santa. Thank you for spreading lots of joy this holiday season!

This fall, budding artists took time to render finger-paintings and googly-eyed crafts during their recent supervised family visits at PEI Kids.

See some their creative artwork here:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19ak5XTz2F/

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18jKKYNk4R/

Thank you to all who supported PEI Kids with the gift of your contribution during our Giving Season campaign which runs from Giving Tuesday through New Years Eve. You made the 2024 Giving Season our most successful one yet!

Check out the Progress Chart to see our year-end results and the wonderful people helping us make a difference.

What an awesome community of support!

January is a great time for new beginnings! If you’d like to help kids grow up safe and strong, consider donating today or volunteering at PEI Kids. We always need dedicated volunteers to help around the office, represent our organization at community events, help us conduct free community workshops, and more.

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