Polly Klass Foundation Named Nonprofit of Year by Justice Department

Petaluma-based Polly Klass Foundation has been named the 2011 Missing Children Nonprofit Organization of the Year by the US Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

The award was presented to Robert De Leo, the foundation's executive director by federal officials and honors the foundation for "its outstanding contributions and commitment to missing and exploited children."

The foundation is named after Polly Klaas, a Petaluma girl who was abducted during a slumber party at her house in 1993. The kidnapping set off a national search with hundreds of volunteers. But it also highlighted police's inability to get the message out about a missing child in a quick and efficient matter. 

Marc Klaas, Polly's father, was instrumental in creating the Amber Alert system, signed into law in 1996 and which distributed information about a kidnapping via the Internet, radio, TV and messages on highway billboards.

Since starting in 1993, the Polly Klaas Foundation has helped more than 7,500 families of missing children. It offers a round-the-clock hotline for families with missing children, and  offers abduction prevention/education tools. It also has a growing number of Rapid Response Team e-volunteers across the Nation who actively participate in efforts to help bring home missing children.