Project Protect Our Children

What Project Protect Our Children does

Project Protect Our Children (PPOC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Kingwood, Texas, founded in 2019 by Denise Mears. Its mission is to prevent child sex trafficking, exploitation, and abuse through community engagement, preventative educational programs, and awareness initiatives. The organization serves middle and high school students (ages 11–18), parents and caregivers, educators and youth-serving professionals, corporate employees, and at-risk youth populations including those in juvenile justice or foster care systems.

PPOC's product portfolio centers on Youth Action Boards, a student-led anti-trafficking club framework with training materials, event-planning resources, and adult facilitator guides provided free to schools. Human Trafficking 101 is an online corporate training module available in English and Spanish on web and mobile, tracking employee progress through pre/post-test results and offering optional company branding. E3 Youth Development provides professional development for at-risk youth through Engage, Educate, and Empower programming. Supplementary offerings include training programs for parents/guardians, educators (Texas Education Agency–approved CPE), community organizations, and youth. There is no proprietary AI or machine-learning technology; the platform is a conventional e-learning system. Reported training outcomes include 94% of Human Trafficking 101 respondents showing increased knowledge, 100% reporting the ability to confidently define and report trafficking post-test, and 91% answering all questions correctly after training.

Revenue is generated through individual donor contributions, corporate sponsorships, and branded corporate training partnerships. All programs are free to end users (a freemium model), and the only direct program cost referenced is a modest annual stipend to School Campus Sponsors. Distribution is via direct school partnerships, community outreach, youth-serving organization collaborations, and a self-serve online training platform. The organization reports nationwide US reach, a multi-channel presence across Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube, an annual Royale Gala fundraising event, and a Candid/GuideStar Platinum Transparency 2026 designation.

Name

Project Protect Our Children

Legal name

Project Protect Our Children

Website

https://projectprotectourchildren.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Project Protect Our Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides free, age-appropriate, trauma-informed anti-trafficking prevention education through student-led Youth Action Boards, corporate and community training programs, and youth development services targeting middle and high school students, educators, parents, and at-risk youth across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Child Trafficking Prevention Education Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Educational Support Services (611710), Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Child Protection & Child Rights (BPAGABAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Justice, At-Risk Youth & Violence Prevention Nonprofits (BPAGADAM), Protection, Child Protection & Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Response (BPAGAAAG), Child Rights & Protection (BPADAGAG), Trauma-Informed & Resilience-Building Programs (Early Childhood) (EDACAOAD)

Keywords

• Child trafficking prevention
• Anti-trafficking education
• Youth awareness programs
• Human trafficking training
• Community prevention services

Headquarters

HQ city

Kingwood

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donor Contributions: Project Protect Our Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that relies on individual donor contributions to fund training programs and educational materials provided free of charge.
2. Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate sponsors fund the organization's programs in exchange for association with anti-trafficking prevention efforts and employee training.
3. Branded Corporate Training: Companies can brand Human Trafficking 101 training modules with their own logo for employee education.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Project Protect Our Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers free, age-appropriate, trauma-informed child sex trafficking prevention education through student-led Youth Action Board clubs in middle and high schools, corporate Human Trafficking 101 training, and professional development programs for at-risk youth. The organization also provides free training workshops to parents, educators, community organizations, and corporate leaders on recognizing trafficking red flags and reporting methods. All programs are funded through individual donations and corporate sponsorships and provided at no cost to participants.

Product overview

Project Protect Our Children offers a suite of prevention-focused educational programs and training services centered on ending child trafficking. The core portfolio includes Youth Action Boards (student-led clubs providing free materials and training for peer-led anti-trafficking initiatives) and E3 Youth Development (professional development for at-risk youth incorporating Engage, Educate, and Empower components). The company also provides Human Trafficking 101 corporate training with customizable branding options and Executive Workshops for business leaders. Supplementary offerings include training programs for parents/guardians, educators, community organizations, and youth, all designed to engage, educate, and empower whole communities with prevention knowledge. All materials and programs are provided at no cost to participants, funded through donations and corporate sponsorships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Youth Action Boards Student-led anti-trafficking clubs for middle and high school students aged 11-18 that engage, educate, and empower youth as champions in the prevention movement through free training materials, student-led awareness events, and peer education. Implemented at no cost to schools, districts, or students with all curriculum, training, and resources provided.
• Human Trafficking 101

Quantifiable outcome

• 94% of Human Trafficking 101 training respondents showed an increase in knowledge
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Youth-Serving Organizations (Community Partners)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYouth-serving organizations partner with Project Protect Our Children to implement Youth Action Board programs. These organizations provide adult facilitators while PPOC provides all training materials, curriculum, and program support at no cost. The partnership leverages existing community relationships to expand the youth-driven anti-trafficking movement.
• School Districts and CampusescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchools implement Youth Action Board clubs through campus sponsors (adult facilitators trained by PPOC). All materials and programs are provided free. Schools gain structured anti-trafficking education while PPOC expands its reach through the education system.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• NetSmartz (NCMEC): NCMEC's online safety education program for children and teens, delivering in-classroom and digital curricula on exploitation and online safety. Comparable as a broad incumbent in school-based child-exploitation prevention education.
• National Human Trafficking Hotline: Federally supported hotline and resource center for trafficking victims and reporters. Comparable as an incumbent in the broader anti-trafficking ecosystem where PPOC trains potential reporters.
• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC): The largest U.S. nonprofit focused on missing and exploited children, with prevention education, a CyberTipline, and recovery services. Comparable on child protection mission and prevention-education delivery, but at far greater scale and with government ties.

Direct peers

• Polaris: National anti-trafficking nonprofit operating the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline and funding prevention, policy, and survivor-support programs. Comparable as a direct peer in U.S. anti-trafficking prevention, though larger and broader in mandate.
• ECPAT-USA: Member of the ECPAT International network focused on ending commercial sexual exploitation of children through advocacy, policy, and youth education. Comparable as a peer in child-trafficking prevention and youth-targeted education.
• Love146: Anti-trafficking nonprofit combining survivor care with prevention education and youth engagement. Comparable as a peer delivering prevention curriculum to schools and youth-serving organizations.
• Shared Hope International: Nonprofit dedicated to preventing and combating sex trafficking through prevention education, demand-reduction, and survivor services. Comparable on trafficking prevention curriculum and state-level legislative engagement.
• Thorn: Nonprofit building technology (Spotlight) to identify child sex trafficking victims and providing prevention education. Comparable on the prevention-education front and stronger on the technology platform dimension PPOC explicitly lacks.

Emerging players

• iKeepSafe: Nonprofit providing digital safety, privacy, and citizenship education for K-12 students. Comparable as an emerging peer in digital-safety and online-grooming prevention education delivered to schools.
• Trafficking in America Task Force: Smaller anti-trafficking prevention nonprofit delivering community and youth education programs. Comparable as an emerging peer in community-led prevention education, though with limited national scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PPOChtx
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCR3cc8GgponvuGAtE4-TDDQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/projectprotectourchildren
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/projectprotectourchildren
• Instagraminstagram.com/ppoc.htx

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Project Protect Our Children