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Amber Rene Hagerman (November 25, 1986 – January 17, 1996) was a young girl who became a victim of an abduction and murder. On January 13, 1996, she was riding her bicycle with her little brother near her grandparents' home in Arlington, Texas, and was kidnapped soon thereafter. Her murder would later inspire the creation of the AMBER Alert system.
Amber’s Tiponi Foundation is a nonprofit organization awaiting approval of 501(c)3 status. Amber’s Tiponi Foundation was formed to serve multiple purposes and provide services for children who have fallen victim to abuse, neglect or exploitation. Amber’s Tiponi Foundation is funded through grants, private and corporate donations, and fundraising events.
The name "Amber" was chosen to honor the memory of Amber Hagerman.
The name "Tiponi" is a Hopi Indian name meaning: child of importance. This name was chosen because we feel every child is important.
The Hopi are American Indians who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. Hopi means "peaceful people." According to Hopi lore, the Hopi are a gathering of many separate people representing tribes from distant areas, now identifying culturally as one people. The name Hopi is a shortened form of what these Native American people call themselves, Hopituh Shi-nu-mu, "The Peaceful People" or "Peaceful Little Ones". Hopi is a concept deeply rooted in the culture's religion, spirituality, and its view of morality and ethics. To be Hopi is to strive toward this concept, which involves a state of total reverence and respect for all things and to be at peace with these things. The Hopi observe their traditional ceremonies for the benefit of the entire world.
Fortunately, many good organizations exist to help find and recover missing children. Unfortunately, there has not been much work done to study or lessen the effects this trauma can have on the children's lives and the lives of their families. Amber’s Tiponi Foundation was formed to assist in lessening the effects of these traumas and reassert a sense of hope in the future. We exist to help the abducted children and their families go from victims to victors!
Amber’s Tiponi Foundation will be raising funds to open the Tiponi Ranch, a place for healing. There is a great deal of support available to help families go through the search, rescue, therapy and court processes. After this is over, the family is expected to go back into the world and go on with their lives. Many of these families have lost faith in the possibilities that await them if they are successful in putting their lives together. We feel families need time to heal and reconnect as a family again. The ranch will help provide this opportunity.
The goal of this program is to assist the families who are going through this turbulent transition and offer a positive support system to avoid the pitfalls that can derail their lives. Few of us know the agony a missing child and their family will experience. And, gratefully, most families will never experience the agony of having their child go missing. Coping with the trauma of having a missing child demands courage and determination from parents and other family members, who often feel isolated in the face of fear and frustration.
In addition, Amber’s Tiponi Foundation will offer child safety education and educational programs for parents and school teachers.
Amber’s Tiponi Foundation will develop a network of volunteers across the country that will be present in court for the sentencing of pedophiles. It is our hope that their presence will show support for the victim and family and signal to the judge that the community has a vested interest in keeping these predators away from our children.
Amber’s Tiponi Foundation will offer assistance programs for the parents of missing children. These programs will consist of a network of private investigators across the United States who will assist in the recovery of missing children and helping the families find necessary resources to cope with such a tragedy.
Mission:
The mission of Amber’s Tiponi Foundation is to help in locating missing children; to provide advocacy and support services to families of missing children and to provide information and prevention education to the public regarding missing children and runaways. Amber’s Tiponi Foundation believes that to reduce the number of child abductions in the future, we must educate our children and empower them with the skills necessary to protect them from the dangers of abduction.
