The AmberWatch Foundation works to keep children safe from abduction and molestation by providing educational programs and tools. The organization's "Be Safe" Education Program is designed to educate children and their parents about the existence of child abductors and molesters, and provide a framework for protecting children against these threats.
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History
In 2004 Keith Jarrett was shopping with his daughter when he turned around to find her missing from his side. Jarrett eventually found his daughter after frantically searching the store, but the experience left him shaken. After the incident, Jarrett began conducting research about the resources available to concerned parents. He found a wealth of response-oriented organizations that focused on after-the-fact approaches, but was surprised by an utter lack of preventative resources. This led to the creation of the AmberWatch Foundation, a public, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that "compliments existing child safety education and focuses on empowering children with the information, tools, and support they need to avoid potentially dangerous situations in the first place."
Mobile Initiative
In June 2008, AmberWatch Foundation and Qualcomm partnered to create the AmberWatch Mobile Initiative. Using GPS tracking, AmberWatch Mobile services enable “individuals to send alerts to family and friends when they’re in need of assistance, allow chosen friends or family members to check on an individual’s location from their PC or cell phone, and give parents the ability to set up scheduled checkups with their kids.”
Mobile fund raising
AmberWatch recently partnered with the Mobile Giving Foundation and Mgive to launch a mobile donating campaign. The campaign allows $5 micro-donations to be made by sending a text message to the short code 90999 with the keyword AMBER.