The Rahway Municipal Alliance in conjunction with the Rahway Police Department and Prevention Links will sponsor a community education program for parents, educators and youth service professionals entitled Cyberbullying: Welcome to the World of Texting, Sexting, Facebook and More on Wednesday, October 26 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm in the Rahway Middle School Auditorium. The program will be conducted by Detective Sgt. Tom Rich who has been a featured speaker on this subject at conventions all over the country, appearing on both Good Morning America and the Nancy Grace Show.

The program will cover the practice of texting and sexting, as well as the use of Facebook and other social networking sites, showing how these forms of technology are affecting youth everyday and how it is making it easier for them to be mean to each other. It will examine real life examples of cyber-bullying and the dangers of on-line chatting. It will also take an in depth look at Facebook profiles, explain the pitfalls and what can be expected of privacy settings. Using entertaining videos and positive solutions, Detective Sgt. Rich’s high energy presentation will lead the audience on an engaging journey, showing how the many forms of communication available today can also be used positively and in moderation.

Detective Sgt. Rich is a certified police officer in the State of New Jersey entering his 15th year of service. He has been a DARE instructor for the past 10 years and has spent his entire career dedicated to children. Sgt Rich realized the huge impact that technology was having on children, especially in regards to cyberbullying, and decided to focus his efforts on educating audiences about current trends, real life problems and solutions for schools, parents and children. His goal is to help to address the problems that children face using technology and how these pitfalls lead to cyberbullying. He brings the real world experience of what kids are going through on a daily basis and provides solutions to the hard questions that children face everyday.

The program is funded, in part, by the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse through the UCDHS Division of Planning. It is free and open to the public, however it is not recommended for children. Light refreshments will be served at 6:30 p.m. 1.5 hours of New Jersey Department of Education professional development credit will be provided. For more information, call (732) 669-3618.