The Safe Surfin’ Foundation recently had the opportunity to visit Chowan University to present the Cyber S.W.A.T. program and discuss future partnership opportunities focused on online safety, cybersecurity awareness, student leadership, and community outreach. The visit brought together representatives from the foundation and Chowan University’s leadership team for a productive conversation about how the two organizations can work together to keep young people safe in the digital world.
During the visit, team members from the Safe Surfin’ Foundation shared how the Cyber S.W.A.T. program can equip students with the tools and training they need to promote digital wellness, responsible technology use, and internet safety awareness among their peers and throughout the broader community.
What Is the Cyber S.W.A.T. Program?
Cyber S.W.A.T. is a student-driven initiative designed to turn young people into informed advocates for online safety. Rather than relying solely on adults to deliver the message, the program empowers students themselves to lead the conversation about responsible technology use—making the lessons more relatable and far more likely to stick with their peers.
Through the program, students gain:
- Practical training: Real-world knowledge about online risks, digital citizenship, and how to navigate today’s ever-changing technology safely
- Leadership opportunities: The chance to step up as peer leaders and role models who promote internet safety within their schools and communities
- Digital wellness tools: Resources that encourage healthy, balanced, and responsible use of technology
- Community impact: A platform to extend safety awareness beyond the classroom and into the families and neighborhoods they serve
By placing students at the center of the effort, Cyber S.W.A.T. helps build a culture of online safety that grows from the inside out.
Why Student-Led Online Safety Matters
College students occupy a unique and powerful position in the fight to keep young people safe online. They are old enough to understand the real risks of the digital world, yet close enough to younger students, siblings, and community members to communicate those risks in a way that resonates. When safety messages come from a relatable peer rather than a distant authority figure, they tend to land harder and last longer.
That peer-to-peer influence is exactly what makes a program like Cyber S.W.A.T. so effective. By training students to become confident, knowledgeable advocates, the program creates a ripple effect: each student reaches classmates, who reach their families, who reach their neighborhoods. A single campus chapter can extend the reach of online-safety education far beyond what any one presentation could accomplish on its own. Just as importantly, the experience helps participating students build leadership, public-speaking, and mentorship skills that serve them long after graduation.
The Growing Risks Young People Face Online
The need for proactive online-safety education has never been more urgent. Children and teens are connected earlier and more constantly than any previous generation, and the threats they encounter have grown more sophisticated alongside the technology. Online enticement, sextortion, cyberbullying, and AI-generated exploitation are no longer rare or distant dangers—they are everyday realities that touch communities of every size.
The scale is staggering. In 2025 alone, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) received more than 21 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation through its CyberTipline, and reports of online enticement—a category that includes sextortion—climbed sharply compared to the prior year. Behind every one of those numbers is a real child, which is why equipping young people, families, and communities with knowledge and tools is so critical.
Programs like Cyber S.W.A.T. meet this challenge head-on by shifting the focus from reaction to prevention—helping students recognize warning signs, make smart decisions online, and look out for one another before harm occurs.
Expanding the Conversation: The EZ ID Program
The presentation also included a discussion of the Safe Surfin’ Foundation’s EZ ID program and the many ways Chowan University students could participate in community outreach. Through EZ ID events, students can help provide identification materials to families and local community members—a hands-on service opportunity that makes a tangible difference for the people who need it most.
This kind of outreach gives students a meaningful way to apply their leadership skills while strengthening the bond between the university and the surrounding community. Chowan University’s team expressed strong interest in the potential impact of both Cyber S.W.A.T. and ID events, recognizing them as valuable opportunities for student engagement and service.
“When students take ownership of online safety and community service, the impact reaches far beyond the campus. These are exactly the kinds of partnerships that help us protect more children and strengthen the communities we serve.”
A Shared Commitment to Education and Safety
Chowan University, founded in 1848 in Murfreesboro, North Carolina, carries the motto Lux et Veritas—Light and Truth—and a guiding promise of “Faith in your future.” That commitment to education, leadership, and service made the university a natural fit for collaboration with the Safe Surfin’ Foundation.
The Safe Surfin’ Foundation is grateful to President Dr. Rosemary Thomas and the entire Chowan University staff for their hospitality, time, and thoughtful collaboration throughout the visit. Their warm welcome and genuine enthusiasm reflected a shared dedication to preparing students not only for academic success, but for lives of leadership and service.
Safe Surfin’ Foundation: Protecting Youth Online Since 1998
For more than 25 years, the Safe Surfin’ Foundation has been a leader in protecting young people in the digital age. Founded in 1998—during the earliest days of widespread internet adoption—the foundation recognized from the start that keeping children safe online would require new tools, new education, and new partnerships. That mission has only grown more important as technology has woven itself into every part of daily life.
Today, through initiatives like Cyber S.W.A.T., the EZ ID program, and ongoing collaboration with schools, universities, law enforcement, and community organizations, the foundation continues to deliver practical education and proactive resources where they are needed most. Partnering with an institution like Chowan University, with its strong emphasis on leadership, service, and faith, extends that mission to a new generation of student advocates.
Looking Ahead
The visit marked an encouraging step toward a long-lasting relationship between the Safe Surfin’ Foundation and Chowan University—one built around a shared commitment to education, safety, leadership, and community impact. As both organizations look to the future, the foundation is excited about the possibilities that lie ahead and the difference this partnership can make in the lives of students and families alike.
Safe Surfin’ Foundation is proud to work alongside universities, community partners, and organizations that share a commitment to protecting young people and improving lives.
Learn More About the Safe Surfin’ Foundation
Visit SafeSurfin.org to learn more about the Cyber S.W.A.T. program, the EZ ID program, and other initiatives protecting youth in the digital age. Together, we can make the internet a safer place for every child.