Every year on July 21, National Be Someone Day challenges us to pause for just ten seconds and use that moment to uplift a child’s life. Created by Project Harmony, this advocacy day educates communities about child abuse and encourages adults to intervene, report abuse, and become trusted confidants for kids in need.
The Reality: Statistics That Inspire Action
- At least one in ten children in the U.S. experiences abuse before turning 18.
- half of all abuse is committed by someone the child or family trusts.
- Project Be Someone notes that a report of suspected abuse is filed every ten seconds, making that pledge a literal moment of life‑saving potential.
Though these numbers are stark, the message behind them is powerful: a single person’s willingness to speak up can change a life forever, and even shift the course of future generations.
How to Be That Someone
You don’t need special training—just compassion, awareness, and the readiness to act. Project Harmony’s Be Someone Pledge outlines five actionable steps: learn the facts, minimize opportunity, talk about it, know the signs, and act responsibly. In just ten seconds, you can check in with a child’s tone, offer kind reassurance, or quietly report suspicious behavior. A moment of kindness or action can become the turning point in a child’s story.
Local Organizations Making a Difference on Florida’s Suncoast
If you want to do more than pledge—to volunteer, mentor, or advocate—several local groups on the Suncoast of Florida offer meaningful roles all year round:
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast (serving Tampa, Sarasota, and Bradenton) creates supportive mentor matches between adults and youth ages 6–18. Their one‑to‑one connections boost confidence, academic performance, and emotional resilience.
- Tampa Bay Academy of Hope, Inc. offers mentoring and support to at‑risk youth aged 8–24. Volunteers give as little as one hour per week and help young people feel seen, valued, and supported.
- Florida Network of Youth and Family Services coordinates crisis services across our region, enabling youth facing homelessness, neglect, or family crisis to receive counseling, stabilization, and care in community settings, making them vital partners in protection and recovery.
- Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches – Manatee River location in Bradenton provides residential care, therapeutic services, and transformative programming for children and families in crisis. Their deeply caring teams help kids rebuild trust and thrive in safe environments.
Words of Encouragement to Every Reader
Imagine standing on the shores of Sarasota Bay, watching children build sandcastles under the Florida sun, and knowing your voice can help ensure those childhoods are safe, bright, and full of hope. Even when life feels busy, those ten seconds you take on July 21 can become seeds of empowerment.
By volunteering, mentoring, donating, or simply spreading awareness using #BeSomeoneDay, you support a chain of healing and trust. You validate each child’s belief that they matter. You remind them—and remind yourself—that communities flourish when every child feels seen.
Be Someone: The Ripple Effect
When we choose to be someone, we spark a ripple, one loving gesture, one courageous report, one empathetic connection, creating new stories of resilience. A child finds the courage to speak. A mentor stays consistent. A community becomes safer. That’s the legacy of Be Someone Day: shared responsibility, empowered action, and hope carried forward.
On July 21, let’s take ten seconds to pay attention, reach out, and support local organizations that protect and uplift, showing children that their lives are worth defending and celebrating because everyone deserves someone in their corner…