Social Impact Heroes: Why & How Carly Yoost of Child Rescue Coalition Is Helping To Change Our World
Don’t believe that everyone is going to share your passion, many wont. And that’s ok. Hear people out that they have different causes that they support. Then move on to those who do have an open hear.
As part of my series about “individuals and organizations making an important social impact”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Carly Yoost, Founder, Child Rescue Coalition.
Carly Yoost is a local Boca Raton resident and founder of Child Rescue Coalition, rescuing children from sexual abuse by building technology for law enforcement, free of charge, to track, arrest and prosecute child predators. She was in the 2016 class of Women of Worth honorees, and was voting by the public as the national honoree.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I started the Child Rescue Coalition to further my late father’s life work and legacy. I became co-CEO of her father’s company, TLO, when her father passed away suddenly in 2013. I fought through financial hardship and many naysayers who told her to shut down the company her father, data genius Hank Asher, had built. As part of the sale of TLO, my sister and I retained the proprietary technology on which the Child Rescue Coalition was later built. Because of a woman who refused to quit, this lifesaving technology is now in the hands of law enforcement officers in 97 countries worldwide, and has directly led to the arrest of more than 13,700 sexual predators.
Can you describe how you or your organization is making a significant social impact?
Through Child Rescue Coalition, Carly and her team rescues children from sexual abuse by building technology for law enforcement, free of charge, to track, arrest and prosecute child predators. Their technology has improved the success rates of investigators and policing operations in the ongoing pursuit to identify, apprehend and convict individuals and networks associated with child sexual exploitation. Since becoming a Women of Worth in 2016, Carly has integrated her CRC Technology into law enforcement agencies in all 50 US states and 97 countries for free.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
Ways the community can support:
Donate the funds needed to train law enforcement and support their use of our tool for a year. Financial support of $250 dollars allows us to support an officer’s use of our tool for a year. Join our monthly giving “coalition club” at $25 a month to support and officer for a year
Please sign up for our newsletter to learn about recent cases and go to our website childrescuecoalition.org/educate for tips on how to keep your own kids safe from child predators.
Write to your local politician/policy makers:
encourage them to allocate more resources towards officers fighting against crimes against children
Demand stricter penalties for child predators
- Demand that your own local state law enforcement are utilizing CRC’s free technology to track child predators
- Help us get laws on the book in all 50 states banning child sex dolls (currently only 4 states make the sale and purchase of these dolls illegal.)
- *Please note that through the funding received from winning the Karen Fondu impact award we will make it easier for community activist to connect to their own local politicians through a portal that we will build out on our website.
Ways that society can support:
Be an advocate and speak up against child sexual abuse. Not only speak up, but stand up and join our fight to protect children. Share your passion with your friends and encourage them to join the cause. This truly is how grassroot change is made.
If you know of law enforcement in your community please encourage them to go to our website
https://childrescuecoalition.org/law-enforcement/ and sign up for free training and free access to our tool
Write to the tech companies you know and demand that the do more to protect children on their platform. Encourage them to work with Child Rescue Coalition and use the data in our system to help screen for potential dangerous child predators.
Are there three things the politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
Write legislation that mandates that tech companies to do more to protect their platform against child predators and the illegal trade of Child Sexual Abuse Material.
Create legislation that bans the sale of “child sex dolls” in all 50 states
Legally force the hand of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to filter out and not allow for their users to trade and download Child Sexual Abuse Material. ISPs could be working with CRC to simply block the trade of known illegal files.
Allocate more funding to hire more officers dedicating to fighting internet crimes against children
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
This may be overstated, but surround yourself with brighter people then you. You need to check your ego at the door and allow others known for their experience and brain to shine. Also, don’t be afraid to say you don’t know something. One of my biggest pet-peeves is when a person who doesn’t know the answer but acts like they do. I would much rather a team member say that they don’t know rather than pretend that they do.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why.
- This is going to be way harder than you think this will be, but that’s ok.
- It takes a couple of years to build your tribe of loyal supporter, but once you do they are the best.
- Don’t believe that everyone is going to share your passion, many wont. And that’s ok. Hear people out that they have different causes that they support. Then move on to those who do have an open hear.
- Life is too short to get bogged down by the no’s, it’s the yeses that make the happy days.
- Once you hear the no, move on quickly without wasting anymore of your time or theirs. Appreciate and nurture the yeses. These people become your tribe members.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
You can follow the impact of Child Rescue Coalition on Instagram (@childrescuecoalition), Facebook (Child Rescue Coalition Street Team), and Twitter (@ChildRescueCo).
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
Social Impact Heroes: Why & How Carly Yoost of Child Rescue Coalition Is Helping To Change Our… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.