Many Connecticut Rotary Clubs are working together in partnership with the Amber Alert Safe-Child ID program at the Eastern States Exposition (The Big E) in West Springfield, MA from Sept 13-29, 2013.

Rotarians and volunteers will staff the Amber Alert ID booth taking photos of children and entering their information into an encrypted nationwide database.

Amber Alert, an early warning system to help find abducted children, is a voluntary program in which families register their children under the age of 18. Parents or guardians of participating children receive a wallet-size, plastic card with a picture of the child, a unique Amber ID number and only the minimal information needed to identify the child. The information is encrypted and stored in a secure data base available for use only by law enforcement agencies in the event a child is abducted.

Source: Derby-Shelton Rotary

AMBER stands for America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response and was created as a legacy to nine-year old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas, and then brutally murdered. The AMBERAlert System started in 1996 when Dallas-Fort Worth broadcasters partnered with local law enforcement to develop an early warning system to help find abducted children.

The Following Connecticut Rotary Clubs are volunteering their time, talent and resources at the BIG E this year:

• Avon-Canton
• Clinton
• Hamden
• Meriden
• New Haven
• Madison
• Niantic
• Orange
• West Hartford
• Woodbridge

Other D7980 Rotary Clubs that participate in Amber sign-ups outside the Big E include:

• Danbury
• Derby-Shelton
• East Hampton
• East Haven
• Fairfield
• Guilford
• Middletown
• Milford
• North Branford
• Norwich
• Ridgefield
• Seymour-Oxford

Disclaimer: Sorry if I missed your club, kindly let me know and I will add you to the list.

Source(s): Clinton Rotary, The Canton News, Derby-Shelton Rotary and The Interweb