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The InfraGard National Members Alliance (INMA) recently joined forces with the Internet Keep Safe Coalition (www.iKeepsafe.org) and Optimist International, a non-profit service organization, to help protect children from child predators who use the Internet to find and contact their victims.
“Cyber-security is one of our primary objectives, and nowhere is security more important than where our children meet the Internet,” said INMA President Robert Schmidt. “We look forward to helping spread this critical message.”
The Internet Keep Safe Coalition is an alliance that includes support from governors and their spouses from 49 states, as well as the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the FBI, The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, and a long list of corporations, including Adobe, AOL, Bearing Point, Convergys, Dell, Disney Online, Intel, McDonalds, Siebel Systems, Symantec, Target, and Yahoo!
NBC Dateline's “To Catch a Predator” series has raised awareness of online predators who target minors, filming and broadcasting the arrests of those who were expecting to have sex with youngsters. In each case the alleged pedophile identified and contacted what he (or she) thought was a child via an online networking or chat line, arranging a meeting for a sexual encounter.
“Our new partnerships with the InfraGard National Members Alliance (INMA) and Optimist International are outstanding opportunities for us to get our message out,” said Coalition President, Marsali Hancock. “We want to stress to parents that the developmental years between ages 8-18 are not the time for online social networking in places like MySpace , Facebook, and Xanga, because kids do not have the maturity and experience to keep safe in these extremely high-risk settings.”
This summer the Coalition will launch the first two installments of the new Faux Paw the Techno Cat Internet Safety Series, a series of coordinated children's storybooks and animated short films, which will teach children the essential rules to stay safe online.
Episode 1: titled Faux Paw the Techno Cat: Adventures in the Internet: tells the story of a Governor's curious cat who gets into trouble by agreeing to meet a new “friend” found in a chatroom.
Episode 2: titled Faux Paw Meets the First Lady: features the voice of First Lady Laura Bush who recorded the part of the first lady in the film. It shows children how to handle cyber-bullying as it reinforces the basic rules of Internet safety. In this story, Faux Paw goes to Washington D.C. to visit Cousin Ernie. When they get into trouble on the Internet, the First Lady saves the day.
The website also features messages from the first spouses and governors, and free educational resources for teachers including coloring pages, worksheets, quizzes, and guided discussions. The Coalition is leading a campaign to promote three basic rules that will keep kids safe online: Keep. Don't Meet. Tell.SM:
- KEEP your personal information protected. Never give anyone online your real name, address, phone number, the name of your school or a picture of yourself.
- DON'T MEET in person with anyone you've met on the Net.
- TELL a parent or trusted adult if you see anything on the computer that makes you feel uncomfortable.
About the Internet Keep Safe Coalition (iKeepSafe.org) and Faux Paw the Techno Cat
The Internet Keep Safe Coalition is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to helping parents, educators, and caregivers by providing guidelines and tools to teach children the safe and healthy use of technology and the Internet. Faux Paw the Techno CatTSM is the brain child of Jacalyn S. Leavitt, wife of Health and Human Services Secretary, Mike Leavitt, and it continues her lifelong work to promote public health and education.
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