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.

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

Qualcomm

Qualcomm is an American global telecommunication corporation that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access technology and other technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA...

 partnered to create the AmberWatch Mobile Initiative. Using GPS tracking

GPS tracking

A GPS tracking unit is a device that uses the Global Positioning System to determine the precise location of a vehicle, person, or other asset to which it is attached and to record the position of the asset at regular intervals...

, 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

Mobile giving foundation

The Mobile Giving Foundation is a non-profit organization based in the U.S. state of Washington, working to increase mobile donating in the US. Chairman and CEO, Jim Manis in early 2008 fostered a deal between the top four major US carriers, allowing non-profit text message fees to be...

 and Mgive

Mgive

mGive, founded in 2005, is a Denver based Wireless Application Service Provider. mGive offers mobile giving services, and is an approved mGive Foundation Wireless Application Service Provider....

 to launch a mobile donating

Mobile donating

Mobile donating refers to donating to an organization through a mobile device. The primary means for mobile donating is through SMS. Mobile donating can also refer to consumers donating their old phones to a cause for recycling and reuse of the device....

 campaign. The campaign allows $5 micro-donations

Micro-donations

Micro-donations are a form of charitable donations that are small in the donated amount. In the past, they have been used most effectively by companies collecting spare change at registers and checkouts...

 to be made by sending a text message to the short code

Short code

Short codes are special telephone numbers, significantly shorter than full telephone numbers, that can be used to address SMS and MMS messages from certain service provider's mobile phones or fixed phones...

90999 with the keyword AMBER.