PRESS RELEASE February 28, 2005      Contact:        Margy LaFond  (443) 280-4663 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- YELLOW SCHOOL BUS PROVIDES MORE THAN TRANSPORTATION                    (BALTIMORE) Bob Goodwin, president and CEO, non-profit Points of Light Foundation, today held a press conference to announce a new project that combines technology with the existing infrastructure of our country’s 418,000 yellow school buses to provide a unique, comprehensive approach to violence on the buses, in our communities and in our country. The Yellow School Bus Project provides protection to the 24 million children who ride the school bus each day. Additionally, the project will provide first responders and national Homeland Security with tools to enable them to more quickly detect and act on emergencies. Goodwin said, “As a nation one of our greatest challenges is providing for the security of our citizens.  We all know that when a public emergency occurs, the first question asked is “Where are the children?”  This system answers that question and more.   Installing wireless communications equipment with GPS tracking capabilities and real- time video on our school buses will provide us with important information to ensure their protection. School bus incidents and reports of unsafe student activity on school buses have emphasized the need to provide officials with a means of documenting safety violations so corrective actions can be taken.” A combination of wireless communications and video information, providing real-time information of activities internally on the bus, as well as externally on each bus route, will also act as additional eyes and ears for first-responders and Homeland Security officials from the local to the national levels.  This information will be available to first responders through existent or newly established Emergency Operations Center (EOCs) that exist in each community.  When the project is fully implemented, this internet-based information from each EOC will be linked to national EOCs, providing instant access to the status of our children should there be an emergency or concern about conditions in local vicinities. Tony Watson, who as a Rear Admiral in the Navy commanded nuclear submarines at sea, is Chairman of the Board of Millennium Technologies, a Baltimore-based telecommunications company.  He said, “In cases of emergencies such as the tragedy on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School, Colorado, the terrorist attacks on this nation on September 11, 2001, the Washington DC area sniper incidents in 2002, the school hostage crisis in Chechnya and on-going incidents internationally, parents and officials are necessarily concerned about the location and status of our children. We learned that timely information in the hands of first responders in any emergency situation can be crucial.  Through the Yellow School Bus ProjectÔ, first responders will be able to immediately determine the status of the children and act upon emergencies in our communities.” The Points of Light Foundation is seeking funding for the project through a number of sources, both public and private. The technology can be implemented in a school district within 60 days of funding. The Yellow School Bus Project is a public-private partnership between the Points of Light Foundation and Millennium Technologies.  At the national level, the YSB Team consists of: the Points of Light Foundation, as the grant requestor and administrator; Millennium Technologies, who will manage the integration and installation of the technology on the buses; and The Hawk Corporation, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, who will evaluate all phases of the project. This team will be expanded as the project develops. Sharon R. Pinder, Special Secretary, Maryland Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs, and volunteer national spokesperson for the project, said, “One of the most unique facets of this project is the strategic alliances that have been forged between public and private entities to provide solutions to the problems that face our citizens.  This project is about expanding the safety envelope for our children, and we invite the participation of all our communities nationwide.”   School administrators wanting to bring this project to their jurisdiction should complete the form at www.usyellowschoolbus.org .