History

Keith Jarrett and his daughter SabrinaSeven years ago, Keith Jarrett was shopping with his then five-year-old daughter Sabrina when he turned to find her gone. After frantically searching the aisles, he was moments away from having the manager lock down the store when she was found quietly sitting and reading a book. The resulting feeling at the thought of his daughter being taken has never gone away.

Fortunately his experience did not end in tragedy, but those terrifying moments haunted Jarrett in the weeks to come. So much so that he enlisted the aid of colleagues and other concerned parents to begin researching resources for parents to help them keep their children safe. What they discovered is that all of the nationwide programs in place at the time largely addressed "after-the-fact" escape tactics and primarily focused solely on stranger abduction, despite the fact that statistics show the highest percentage of abuse and molestation are perpetrated by individuals the children know.

This need led to the formation of The AmberWatch Foundation, a public, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention of child abduction and child endangerment. Its mission is to facilitate the AWF "Be Safe!" Education Program for children, parents and the community.

The civic-minded individuals behind The AmberWatch Foundation understood that education was integral to helping parents and children understand the steps to take to increase their safety. For this reason, they worked in tandem with law enforcement and child safety professionals to develop the "Be Safe!" program to help "harden the target" by educating elementary-aged children and their parents on the dangers of abduction and child endangerment.

Designed following the guidelines established by respected organizations, such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the "Be Safe!" Education Program complements 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.

Several months after Jarrett's harrowing experience, The AmberWatch Foundation presented its first "Be Safe!" child abduction and molestation prevention program in an assembly format at a private grammar school in Chino Hills, California.

In April 2005, The AmberWatch Foundation secured approval of the Safe & Drug Free Advisory Council in South Florida to pilot its "Be Safe!" Curriculum in the Palm Beach County public school system. After training the Palm Beach County School Police and Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department on the "Be Safe!" Curriculum, The AmberWatch Foundation proudly watched as it was embraced by the county's crime prevention professionals and educators to be adopted wholesale into the entire school district. Today, the AmberWatch Foundation is taught in 103 elementary schools throughout Palm Beach County.

Last July, The AmberWatch Foundation repeated its comprehensive training program for officers at the Miami Dade School Police Department charged with keeping 125,000 elementary-aged kids (grades 2-5) out of harm's way.

What started out as a terrifying afternoon for one parent has blossomed into one of the leading child abduction and molestation prevention programs stretching across the nation from Little Havana in South Florida to Long Beach, California.

Implemented by law enforcement agencies as part of their crime prevention education, The AmberWatch Foundation "Be Safe!" Curriculum utilizes a highly interactive situation-learning format whereby law enforcement professionals demonstrate to students, in a non-threatening way, how to respond to real-life "what if?" scenarios.

Unlike some of its predecessors, the "Be Safe!" Education Program doesn't focus on stranger abduction. Rather, it teaches children in an interactive assembly how to think about being safe in a variety of interpersonal situations with both strangers and non-strangers in and outside of the home.

Because many law enforcement agencies don't currently have a program in place and local school boards don't have the resources to build a program, the AWF "Be Safe!" program is turnkey, created with the approval of the participating school boards and provided at no charge to educational institutions and law enforcement agencies.

The creation of a coloring book featuring "Be Safe!" tips for kids allowed The AmberWatch Foundation to further achieve its mission to increase its reach by providing the "Be Safe!" Curriculum to children who might not otherwise have an opportunity to attend "Be Safe!" assemblies.

Since its inception, scores of industry leaders, Hollywood luminaries and political dignitaries have demonstrated their support of The AmberWatch Foundation. Most recently, some of the country's most recognizable celebrities and sports personalities contributed to the "Be Safe!" national public service announcement campaign for print, radio and television, aimed at making children and parents aware of the steps they must take to be safe every day, everywhere.

The PSA's feature twelve "Be Safe!" Tips, derived from the AWF's "Be Safe!" Curriculum. The "Be Safe!" PSA's for radio have been recorded by such well-known celebrities as Susan Sarandon, Samuel L. Jackson, Julianne Moore, Al Roker, Eugene Levy, Edie Falco, Kelsey Grammer, Nia Vardalos, Ray Romano, and many others. The first wave of PSA's for television have been delivered by the stars of the San Diego Chargers, LaDainian Tomlinson, Donnie Edwards, Keenan McCardell, Lorenzo Neal, Antonio Gates and Luis Castillo.

While The AmberWatch Foundation has enjoyed great success toward achieving its mission since the inaugural presentation in Chino Hills, it has only begun to spread its message to protect our youth nationwide. Look for the AmberWatch Foundation's "Be Safe!" Curriculum, Book and PSA's coming soon to your community!