the history of cyberangels

Formed in 1995, a mere year and a-half after the World Wide Web was launched, Cyberangels has already left its permanent mark on the Internet. The press often mistakenly reports that I formed Cyberangels. But I didn't. I reformed it, perhaps, but Cyberangels was formed by someone very special. Someone who has devoted his entire life to serving others, selflessly. Curtis Sliwa.

It all started with a phone call to Curtis Sliwa, founder and president of Guardian Angels (the all-volunteer group that patrols subways and dangerous inner-city streets, wearing their famed red berets). Curtis had become a radio talk show host for WABC in New York. A woman called in, asking him what he intended to do about cyberspace. Curtis took up the challenge, and appointed a few Guardian Angels to help create the first cyber-neighborhood watch, Cyberangels.

It began as the first cyberstalking help program, in the depths of IRC, helping women who were being harassed online, when men far out-numbered woman online, especially in IRC. It later expanded to child pornography patrols, finding and reporting child pornography online. It ran classes online for its volunteers and anyone who wanted to learn about IRC, and online safety issues. Many people contributed to the articles and class materials, and helped build a wonderful resource for people who needed help online.

As the Internet began to change, and become more mainstream, Cyberangels needed to change too. Its focus needed to be more Web-directed and less dedicated to IRC. Parents needed help in supervising their children's Websurfing. Law enforcement needed support and knowledgeable assistance in tracking cyber-predators and understanding online crimes. There needed to be as large a contingent heralding the good things about the Internet, as warning about the risks. Good site lists were becoming the wave of the future. We also needed to become aware of the risks of privacy intrusions online, and ways to protect our privacy.

That's when I came in. I was an Internet lawyer, and had written A Parent's Guide to the Internet a couple years before. I was already involved heavily in Internet educational programs for parents and children. Curtis asked me to take over Cyberangels, to take it to the next level. I knew that it would be a full time volunteer job. I was already donating about 50% of my time to educating parents and educators about online safety and quality content. I had no intention of donating any more of my time. I was a single-mother and had children to raise and a law firm to run...so I promised him I would run the place for two weeks...at the end of that period, he would have had to find someone else to take over.

Two days later, someone sent me a tip at our reportline. They e-mailed me the url of a child pornography site, asking me to report it and find the people behind it. I went to the site and clicked on one of a hundred links to graphics. The first one I clicked on was of a little girl, about 3-1/2 years old, being graphically raped by a man. She had her eyes closed in the way a very young child does when she thinks you can't see her, if she can't see you. I wept in front of my monitor for more than an hour, got sick to my stomach...and called Curtis. I agreed to run the place as long as he needed me to. Full time, all volunteers, and funding it mostly out of my own pocket...(no one ever said I had any financial sense<g>).

I decided that we could try to keep other little girls and boys from becoming prey to sick people...I did it for that little girl. But I needed heavy duty help. That help came first from Kelley Beatty. she became my right arm and my virtual sister. I named her as Cyberangels first Deputy Executive Director and things started to come together. (She's the one who runs things when I'm off in Singapore, or Japan or Europe spreading the word...). Together we began to harvest some special angels to help us create our dream:

Jean wanted to help, but had problems juggling her multiple family responsibilities, which included raising her new granddaughter, with all she wanted to do for Cyberangels. That was no problem for us. We lied to her, and lured her in, bit by bit. We drafted her to help with a small project - to create a list of great sites for children. (That's how we work...we sucker them in with a little project<grin>) No one could have dreamed how well she would do. Bored with only one project, Jean asked for more variety. So we created a slot just for her...to get new programs and projects working and on track. She is now our Chief Programs Development Officer.

Some people get caught up in our leadership, but Cyberangels isn't a product of its leaders...it's a product of its volunteers. Each and every one of them makes us what we are. Cyberangels will continue, no matter who stands at its helm. It will continue to evolve.

When we were awarded the President's Service Award, we elected to accept it on behalf of the volunteers. We aren't a group of superstars, just ordinary people who want to make a difference. And we do, every single day...we make a difference. Because of all our caring and generous volunteers are the everyday heroes that move the world, little by little they help erode evil and the dark side of the Internet. Cyberangels shines its light into the dark corners online where criminals and people who exploit others thrive.

Where Have We Been?

In the four years since it was formed, Cyberangels has undergone many changes. Its leadership was transitioned, its volunteers have expanded and in some cases turned over. Its vision has changed and widened to meet the needs of Internet users. When it began, we had fewer than 20 million Internet users in the US, now we have more than 100 million. As their needs change, so have we. As the rest of the world has caught up in Internet use, we have evolved to meet their special needs, adding international divisions and multi-language capability. We work as closely with Interpol as we do the FBI. And our reputation is truly worldwide, as is our membership.

The press has been very supportive of our work. We've appeared in Readers Digest (March, 2000), Family Circle wrote an entire article about us (featuring our own Kelley Beatty!) and mentioned us in other articles this past year, Good Housekeeping, Better Homes & Gardens, Playboy, Dateline, YM Magazine, The London Times Magazine, The New York Daily News, The New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, 20/20, Nightly News, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, CNN International, French Elle Magazine, The Mirror and many, many others from around the world have featured our work and our successes. With our solid and rapid growth, expect much more. As the word about what we do spreads....we can do more