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State Law Enforcement Agencies Receive SBC Foundation Grants to Improve AMBER Alert Programs
State Law Enforcement Agencies Receive SBC Foundation Grants to Improve AMBER Alert Programs
Published 10-13-04
Submitted by SBC Communications Inc.
"AMBER Alerts are a proven and effective resource to protect what we all treasure most - our families," said Forrest Miller, group president of external affairs and planning, SBC Communications Inc. "The SBC Excelerator grants will support state agencies with the technology required to use AMBER Alerts to help reunite children with their families as fast as possible."
Recipients of SBC Excelerator grants include state governmental and law enforcement agencies that will use the grants to support technology enhancements, such as the purchase of new computer and communications equipment. The technology upgrades will help the organizations quickly communicate AMBER Alert notifications to law enforcement personnel, news media, businesses and the public. Some state agencies will also use funds to create AMBER Alert training programs for law enforcement personnel, the media and the general public.
Agencies include the Arkansas Attorney General's Office, California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, Connecticut AMBER Alert Committee, Illinois Sheriff's Association, Indiana State Police, Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Michigan Department of State Police, Missouri Police Chiefs' Charitable Foundation, Nevada State Emergency Communications Committee, Ohio Emergency Management Agency, Oklahoma AMBER Alert Committee, Texas Department of Public Safety and Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
"The SBC Excelerator grant will help us use technology to quickly spread the message about an abducted child and bring together the whole community - from police, to broadcast media, to citizens who respond to the alert," said Matthew McBee, coordinator for the Oklahoma AMBER Alert Committee.
SBC Communications has supported the AMBER Alert program for two years through a network paging system that sends AMBER Alerts to field technicians. The company is now providing funding to support the technologies that power AMBER alerts across each of the 13 states in the SBC service area.
The $1 million SBC Excelerator national grant program was jointly announced in August by U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, and Ed Whitacre, chairman and CEO of SBC Communications Inc. Marc Klaas, a nationwide advocate for the protection of missing children and father of Polly Klaas who was kidnapped and murdered, joined Sen. Hutchison and Mr. Whitacre in making the announcement. Also participating were members of the law enforcement and broadcast media communities with responsibilities for the AMBER program.
"The AMBER Alert has proven to be an invaluable system in helping Texas law enforcement return children safely to their homes," said U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas. "Effective communication is essential when searching for a missing child. This funding helps provide local communities new technology to find a lost or abducted child. I deeply appreciate SBC's generosity and continued commitment to public service."
The AMBER Alert program was created in 1996 when Dallas/Fort Worth broadcasters teamed with local police to develop an early warning system to help find 9-year old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas, and then murdered. On Sept. 3, 2002, Sen. Hutchison, co-introduced legislation to establish a nationwide communications-warning network in child abduction cases. Her proposal was signed into law by President George W. Bush on April 20, 2003 as part of the PROTECT Act.
The SBC Excelerator AMBER Alert grants will be available immediately to help recipient agencies support projects that enhance AMBER Alert capabilities in their states. SBC Excelerator, the SBC Foundation's signature grant making initiative, funds projects that use technology to build stronger communities. The 2004 SBC Excelerator program will provide $8 million in national and competitive grants to help nonprofits fully integrate technology into their ongoing operations and community outreach.
The AMBER Alert program is the third $1 million 2004 SBC Excelerator national grant recipient. The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and the National Urban League each received a $1 million SBC Excelerator grant in July. In coming months, the SBC Foundation will announce additional regional nonprofit recipients benefiting from $5 million in competitive grants awarded throughout the SBC 13-state region. Since SBC Excelerator's inception in 2002, nearly $20 million in technology grants have been awarded to more than 1,000 nonprofit organizations.
The SBC Foundation celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2004. In the past two decades, SBC Communications and the SBC Foundation have contributed more than $1 billion to nonprofit organizations and affiliates across the country.
The SBC Foundation is the charitable giving arm of SBC Communications Inc. The SBC Foundation supports efforts that enrich and strengthen diverse communities nationwide, particularly those with an emphasis on education and technology and those that benefit underserved populations. SBC Foundation-backed programs are designed to increase access to information technologies, broaden technology training and professional skills development, and effectively integrate new technologies to enhance education and economic development. The Foundation Center has consistently ranked the SBC Foundation among the nation's top six corporate foundations. In 2002, the SBC Foundation launched SBC Excelerator, a multimillion dollar competitive grants program that funds nonprofit organizations in their efforts to digitally connect communities.
SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE: SBC) is a Fortune 50 company whose subsidiaries, operating under the SBC brand, provide a full range of voice, data, networking, e-business, directory publishing and advertising, and related services to businesses, consumers and other telecommunications providers. SBC holds a 60 percent ownership interest in Cingular Wireless, which serves 25 million wireless customers. SBC companies provide high-speed DSL Internet access lines to more American consumers than any other provider and are among the nation's leading providers of Internet services. SBC companies also now offer satellite TV service. Additional information about SBC and SBC products and services is available at www.sbc.com.
