October is National Bullying Prevention Month. The first step to prevent bullying is to identify what bullying actually is. And that means educating staff and volunteers on identifying when normal peer conflict has turned into bullying behaviors. Below we have compiled resources and tools that you can use with your staff and volunteers to help them build these vitally important skills.

In order to retain quality staff, you have to invest in them. Youth-serving organizations have an advantage on this front because we know that workers of all ages increasingly seek meaning in the work they do. But in order for them to find that meaning, it’s important to be intentional when connecting work with mission, and job duties with career development. In this article, Redwoods staff and leadership explore different strategies your organization can implement to engage your staff and build career paths that help you retain talent for the long term.

Pool Chemical Safety
The only people in your organization handling pool chemicals should be those who are trained to do so. Now is a good time to make sure you have the proper chemicals on site, that their training is up to date, and that you are providing regular refreshers and training as needed throughout the year to keep everyone safe. 

Four Rules Poster 
In your after-school and fall programming spaces, we encourage you to continually reinforce how staff and volunteers should be appropriately interacting with youth to prevent child sexual abuse. Download and hang up our four rules poster to send a signal to staff, volunteers, kids and parents that you’re committed to a culture where boundaries are respected.