ABOUT THE ROSE BRUCIA EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION
Founded by Matthew J. Barbis after his 11-year-old cousin, Carlie Brucia was abducted and murdered in Sarasota, FL in 2004.
The Rose Brucia Educational Foundation’s goal is to reduce the number of child abductions in the U.S. by educating and empowering young minds with the knowledge necessary to avoid abduction.
Utilizing puppets and a formalized educational curriculum, the foundation provides elementary-aged children with the Stranger Safety Awareness Program, free of charge. The Rose Brucia Educational Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
Carlie & Joey, Carlie's Father
OUR STORY
The Rose Brucia Educational Foundation was founded by Matthew J. Barbis when his
11-year-old cousin, Carlie Brucia, was abducted and murdered in Sarasota, Florida in 2004.The Foundation’s goal is to reduce the number of child abductions in America by educating and empowering young minds with the knowledge necessary to avoid abduction.
Utilizing puppets and simple self-defense techniques, the foundation visited elementary schools on a regular basis and performed the Stranger Safety Program, free of charge. The Stranger Safety Program started as a joint effort with The Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center. Upon the creation of the concept, Good Sam partnered with Matthew Barbis to develop the program and introduce it into the local community.
Since its inception, the Stranger Safety Program had been welcomed into the community with open arms. “Carlie’s abduction really changed the way I live my life. To watch my family suffer as it has prompted me to take action and help other children in America”, says Matthew Barbis. “Carlie’s abduction was highly publicized and now stands as a call to action for families and individuals everywhere to stand up to child predators!”
The Rose Brucia Educational Foundation derives its name from Rose A. Brucia, Matthew Barbis’ grandmother.
“She was truly a living symbol of unconditional love and I feel it is only fitting to honor her memory with the foundation’s very worthy mission."
- Matthew Barbis.
With the help of a volunteer educational committee with Patrick Chierichella at the helm, the program has evolved into an educational powerhouse. The Stranger Safety Awareness Program was inspired, created, and developed by a team of award-winning educators. Utilizing a multi-media platform, the program is dynamic, informative, and fun for the students.
Focusing on elementary-aged children, the program engages students and offers them the tools they need to assist them in their own safety, as it relates to strangers. A formalized special education program has also been developed to address stranger safety concepts through middle school.
This curriculum focuses on three fundamental concepts: Awareness, Safety, and Trust. Utilizing Health and Safety Standards established by New York State, the program is designed to reflect these principles consistently throughout all the lessons.
The core messages are presented in a simple format with individual lesson plans written around each show. They're designed to deliver vital stranger safety concepts to children in a non-threatening, yet thought-provoking manner. Each lesson plan includes a checklist of short-term and long-term objectives for the teacher to use as a guide, a list of materials needed to teach each lesson as well as summary statements, and suggested homework assignments.
Where appropriate, worksheets are also supplied for classroom use. Teachers will be able to use each open-ended lesson plan at their discretion throughout the entire school year.
