Faces in Prevention

Lisa Runk
Baltimore, MD

In her work with the Maryland Professional Karate Association, Lisa Runk makes sure that safety is a priority. For the past four years, she has been writing newsletters for students and their parents about karate with a focus on personal safety. Runk focuses on the dangerous situations children may face, like run-ins with bullies or threatening strangers, and explains how children can handle the situation. She says that many parents tell her that their children have dealt with the situations she writes about, and that karate classes and the newsletters are teaching them how to protect themselves.

“We have had students come to us due to the fact that they get picked on and in a few months we turn them around and they don't want to fight, they want to solve the problem first,” Runk said. “I feel that a child who is insecure or needs some encouragement should consider taking up karate. Besides teaching you respect and how to defend yourself, it teaches you self-confidence and maybe if ever needed, how to protect yourself.”

Runk stays up-to-date on the latest in child safety by subscribing to updates from websites like KidsHealth.org and by being a member of the McGruff.org Advisory Council. As an advisory councilmember, Runk receives the latest crime prevention information for children and caregivers from the National Crime Prevention Council and provides her feedback.

“Each time McGruff comes up with a new subject or new updates, I receive an email asking my opinion on the new content. I view this material as if I was telling my own children this.” Runk enjoys being part of the Advisory Council and believes it helps her because “it tells me what is important in safety issues right now.”

For Runk, karate and teaching personal safety are a family activity. Her husband is a Sensei at a karate school and her two teenage children help teach karate classes.

To find out more about the Maryland Professional Karate Association, visit www.mpkadragons.net/. If you'd like to join the McGruff.org Advisory Council, please email mcgruff@ncpc.org.