SAMUELI FOUNDATION EMPOWERS THE JOYFUL CHILD FOUNDATION WITH BREAKAWAY FUNDING

The Joyful Breakaway: A Quest to Keep Kids Safe

WESTMINSTER, CA, UNITED STATES, October 1, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Joyful Child Foundation - In Memory of Samantha Runnion is honored to be among an esteemed collective of recipients selected as a beneficiary of the Samueli Foundation’s Breakaway Fund.

The Samueli Breakaway Fund was established to address the needs of Orange County nonprofits and help create a lasting impact on Orange County communities. Out of 1,004 applications, The Joyful Breakaway: A Quest to Keep Kids Safe places The Joyful Child Foundation among 138 organizations receiving support to help deliver mission-critical programs and services to those who need it most. The first-of-its-kind grantmaking initiative was expanded to $11M from its initial $5M budget based on the urgent community-based needs.

For 23 years, The Joyful Child has been researching, developing and implementing programs to protect and empower children through personal safety education with age-appropriate lessons for children, parents, and youth serving professionals to reduce the risk and incidence of childhood of childhood victimization, including sexual abuse, bullying, abduction, online exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence. In 2010, The Joyful Child launched its cornerstone BRAVE Program to unite communities in child protection through education, which includes a comprehensive curriculum for schools.

Upon learning the news, Founding Director Erin Runnion shared, “We can finally invest in the software and technology to bring our BRAVE Program onto the MyQuest learning platform to capture all the data and measurable outcomes that our funders and school districts require so we can realize our dream of bringing BRAVE to every child in Orange County and beyond. I am truly overwhelmed with joyful gratitude!”

The Joyful Child Foundation was formed in 2002 after the abduction and murder of five-year old Samantha Runnion. In honor of her memory, The Joyful Child works to prevent crimes against children through programs that educate, empower, and unite families and communities. The Foundation’s name reflects the joy that Samantha shared with everyone and the BRAVE Program mirrors Samantha’s own encouragement that her friends and family should always “Be Brave.”

The Joyful Child Fdtn
THE JOYFUL CHILD FOUNDATION-IN MEMORY OF SAMANTHA RUNNION
+1 866-756-9385
contact@thejoyfulchild.org
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