When you are driving down the road and see an amber alert on a board or get a text message, you might not think a whole lot about it, but in the eyes of a friend or family member, it is one of the most terrifying experiences ever. This is where the Polly Klaas organization comes into play. They have a 24/7 hotline that frantic parents and law enforcement can call to reach caseworkers. They “counsel parents on ways to search for their children” and help send out missing child flyers when necessary. They also provide support to parents of missing children daily. They work “with policy makers nationwide creating legislation like Amber Alerts to help keep children safe” and provide support for the child as well.

But the Polly Klaas organization also works to educate children about in person and internet safety in order to prevent any child abductions they can. They work to inform parents and motivate children, not with the use of fear, but encouragement to be safe!

The entire organization started when in October of 1993, twelve year old Polly Klaas was kidnapped by a strange man with a knife who entered her room while she was having a slumber party. Everyone continued to search for her, and by the time her body was found in December of the same year, over 2 billion pictures of her had been distributed across the world. The search was conducted online, which was very new at the time, and through reproductions, photocopies, and faxes, a lot of the pictures were blurry. But one day, Gary French and Bill Rhodes called the police to inform them that the poster could be “digitized”, which would clear up the images. This was such a huge innovation because it used new technology to change “the process of finding missing children”.

“To this day, the Polly Klaas Foundation follows the path laid by these high tech pioneers, and continues to creatively use innovative technology in their child-find operations”.

The Polly Klaas Foundation has innovated new ways of finding children and educates parents and children on ways to be safe and prevent any sort of abductions.

You can donate directly on their website and can become an eVolunteer so you can distribute posters though out you community!

To learn more, please visit their website here: www.pollyklaas.org