God Called Her to Protect Children. Seventeen Years Later, She’s Still Answering.
What does a child predator look like?
Many people picture strangers at the grocery store, unfamiliar faces at the park or someone they’ve never met. But according to Revved Up Kids founder Alli Neal, that’s one of the biggest misconceptions communities need to overcome.
“People think about the [creepy] guy in the white van,” Alli said. “It’s way easier to talk about that than it is to talk about Uncle George.”
For more than 17 years, Revved Up Kids has worked to prevent child sexual abuse by equipping children, parents and communities with practical safety education before abuse ever occurs. The organization’s mission, however, didn’t begin with a strategic plan. It began with what Alli describes as a clear calling from God.
“It came completely out of nowhere,” she said. “Every little detail of it was spelled out by God. I couldn’t turn my back on it.”
At the time, Alli had been a stay-at-home mom for 15 years when her husband lost his job during a company merger. As they prayed about what came next, she said God revealed the vision that would eventually become Revved Up Kids.
“I wouldn’t believe it if it wasn’t happening to me,” Alli said. “There’s no way I would believe it.”
She believes God gave her a clear purpose: to teach children how to recognize unsafe people and equip them with the tools to protect themselves.
“You’re going to train children. You’re going to teach them about unsafe people. You’re going to equip them to defend themselves,” she said.
That mission now reaches organizations across metro Atlanta, including YMCAs, police departments, schools, parks and recreation programs, nonprofits and community groups. Rather than asking families to come to them, Revved Up Kids brings its training directly into the communities it serves.
“The majority of what we’re doing is training children and teenagers,” Alli said. “We go out to our partners and bring the programming to them.”
As the organization has grown, one challenge has remained consistent: helping parents understand that these conversations can’t wait.
“The average age of a victim is eight years old,” she said. “Your child is never too young for this dialogue.”
For Alli, child safety begins with open, ongoing conversations at home.
“Let’s normalize this. Let’s remove that fear. Let’s have comfortable conversations with our children because if our children are armed with information and tools, they will be safer,” she explained.
While the subject matter can be heavy, it’s the stories of children whose lives have been changed that continue to fuel the team’s work.
“It’s so energizing to us when we hear a story of a child who we trained, who then disclosed that they were being abused because we gave them the words and the information, and now that child is going to be safe,” she said.
“Or a teenager who escaped a sexual assault because we gave them tools that they could defend themselves against that attacker. It just fills us up beyond measure to know the impact that this work is having.”
Now, Revved Up Kids is expanding its reach even further. One of its newest initiatives, Protected While Connected, is an online middle school program that allows schools to teach internet safety without needing Revved Up Kids trainers on site.
“Up until this point, we’ve been constrained by geography. We can’t take a team of trainers and drive down to Savannah to deliver a training class,” she said. “Now we have this online option, and we can offer this to you no matter where you are all across the country.”
Throughout the conversation, Alli returned again and again to the faith that has sustained both her family and the organization.
“I’ve been on my knees praying every single day for the last 17 years,” she said.
There were years when she and her husband didn’t take a salary from the nonprofit, trusting that God would continue to provide.
“God has continued to make provision for us personally and for Revved Up Kids, the organization, through unexpected places. Whenever the fear is creeping in, I just have to keep leaning on that,” she said.
Looking ahead, her prayer remains simple: that Revved Up Kids continues reaching the children who need its training.
“The prayers are to continue to enable Revved Up Kids to reach more children so that they can go on to do amazing things for God’s kingdom,” she said.
Seventeen years after answering what she believes was God’s call, Alli says the work still requires faith every single day.
“I’m scared to death every single day,” she said. “I have been scared to death, and yet I’m still doing it. Here I am, and look at what we’ve accomplished.”
God Called Her to Protect Children. Seventeen Years Later, She’s Still Answering.
What does a child predator look like?
Many people picture strangers at the grocery store, unfamiliar faces at the park or someone they’ve never met. But according to Revved Up Kids founder Alli Neal, that’s one of the biggest misconceptions communities need to overcome.
“People think about the [creepy] guy in the white van,” Alli said. “It’s way easier to talk about that than it is to talk about Uncle George.”
For more than 17 years, Revved Up Kids has worked to prevent child sexual abuse by equipping children, parents and communities with practical safety education before abuse ever occurs. The organization’s mission, however, didn’t begin with a strategic plan. It began with what Alli describes as a clear calling from God.
“It came completely out of nowhere,” she said. “Every little detail of it was spelled out by God. I couldn’t turn my back on it.”
At the time, Alli had been a stay-at-home mom for 15 years when her husband lost his job during a company merger. As they prayed about what came next, she said God revealed the vision that would eventually become Revved Up Kids.
“I wouldn’t believe it if it wasn’t happening to me,” Alli said. “There’s no way I would believe it.”
She believes God gave her a clear purpose: to teach children how to recognize unsafe people and equip them with the tools to protect themselves.
“You’re going to train children. You’re going to teach them about unsafe people. You’re going to equip them to defend themselves,” she said.
That mission now reaches organizations across metro Atlanta, including YMCAs, police departments, schools, parks and recreation programs, nonprofits and community groups. Rather than asking families to come to them, Revved Up Kids brings its training directly into the communities it serves.
“The majority of what we’re doing is training children and teenagers,” Alli said. “We go out to our partners and bring the programming to them.”
As the organization has grown, one challenge has remained consistent: helping parents understand that these conversations can’t wait.
“The average age of a victim is eight years old,” she said. “Your child is never too young for this dialogue.”
For Alli, child safety begins with open, ongoing conversations at home.
“Let’s normalize this. Let’s remove that fear. Let’s have comfortable conversations with our children because if our children are armed with information and tools, they will be safer,” she explained.
While the subject matter can be heavy, it’s the stories of children whose lives have been changed that continue to fuel the team’s work.
“It’s so energizing to us when we hear a story of a child who we trained, who then disclosed that they were being abused because we gave them the words and the information, and now that child is going to be safe,” she said.
“Or a teenager who escaped a sexual assault because we gave them tools that they could defend themselves against that attacker. It just fills us up beyond measure to know the impact that this work is having.”
Now, Revved Up Kids is expanding its reach even further. One of its newest initiatives, Protected While Connected, is an online middle school program that allows schools to teach internet safety without needing Revved Up Kids trainers on site.
“Up until this point, we’ve been constrained by geography. We can’t take a team of trainers and drive down to Savannah to deliver a training class,” she said. “Now we have this online option, and we can offer this to you no matter where you are all across the country.”
Throughout the conversation, Alli returned again and again to the faith that has sustained both her family and the organization.
“I’ve been on my knees praying every single day for the last 17 years,” she said.
There were years when she and her husband didn’t take a salary from the nonprofit, trusting that God would continue to provide.
“God has continued to make provision for us personally and for Revved Up Kids, the organization, through unexpected places. Whenever the fear is creeping in, I just have to keep leaning on that,” she said.
Looking ahead, her prayer remains simple: that Revved Up Kids continues reaching the children who need its training.
“The prayers are to continue to enable Revved Up Kids to reach more children so that they can go on to do amazing things for God’s kingdom,” she said.
Seventeen years after answering what she believes was God’s call, Alli says the work still requires faith every single day.
“I’m scared to death every single day,” she said. “I have been scared to death, and yet I’m still doing it. Here I am, and look at what we’ve accomplished.”
