CAP Center History

The Child Abuse Prevention Center (The Exchange Club Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse of D.F.W., Inc.) is a 501(c)-3 nonprofit organization (tax exempt #75-2400158) founded by over 13 Dallas Exchange Clubs and their 400 volunteers in 1993. Aided by the National Exchange Club Foundation for the Prevention of Child Abuse, the Exchange Club Center opened a small office on Markville Avenue in North Dallas. They hired Margaret Patterson as their first staff person, and had approximately $30,000 in the bank. A contract with Child Protective Services provided an influx of clients for the Parent Aide Mentor program. In their first year of operation, over 59 parents and 102 children were served

The court-mandated divorce education program, Families First, was offered in 1995 at East Dallas Christian Church. Shaken Baby Syndrome education was added in 1999. This year also brought a welcome move to the Meadows Historic District, as the CAP Center received a grant for 10 years free rent from the Meadows Foundation. Our name was formally changed to the Child Abuse Prevention Center. In 2001 the CAP Center took over the Healthy Families program from Buckner. We were delighted to have that staff join us in a bigger house in the Meadows District in 2005.

The Exchange Club support has leveraged and catalyzed the CAP Center into a critical provider of prevention services in Dallas County. We are proud to be one of the 70 Exchange Club Centers nationwide.

THE EXCHANGE CLUB IS ONE OF AMERICA'S OLDEST SERVICE CLUBS. Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Michigan, it has grown to more than 1,100 clubs and 38,000 members. Grounded in the motto, ”Unity for Service,” Exchange Clubs nationwide are business and professional men and women who meet regularly for the purpose of serving others. The National Exchange Club's Program for Service provides a blueprint for community action in three areas; Community Service, Americanism and Service to Youth. Programs include Crime Prevention, Fire Prevention, Youth of the Month and Year, Young Citizens, and Freedom Shrines. Child Abuse prevention became a national project in 1979.