Let's do it for Kari!

The No 9 Needed campaign is in full force! What is this campaign you ask? The No 9 Needed campaign, as Mark Fletcher of Avaya put it, means 9-1-1 from any phone WITHOUT a prefix "9.” I couldn’t have explained it better myself. The campaign is gaining support from all over the globe, but like most grassroots movements, it began with a tragic incident. On December 1 2013, Kari Dunn lost her life at the hands of her estranged husband. She had agreed to meet him at a hotel for a short visitation with their three children. During this time Kari was attacked. Her nine-year-old daughter did what she had been taught to do in an emergency and picked up the phone to dial 9-1-1 but the call never went through. After trying to call for help she gathered her younger siblings and was able to get help from a neighboring room.

So what went wrong? Kari’s daughter dialed the right number but the problem was in the system. In order to call an outside line the prefix “9” needs to be dialed first. The sequence would be 9-9-1-1. Kari’s daughter had no idea and who would? In a situation like this one would dial what they know. One would dial 9-1-1 not 9-9-1-1. Shortly after the incident Kari’s father Hank Hunt started a petition for Kari’s Law on Change.org. The following is from the description of the petition,

We are attempting to ensure that any person needing police, EMS or the Fire Department at any hotel or motel location may be able to dial the numbers 911 and receive emergency response. In a panic, any under age child, or for that matter anyone in an emergency situation should be able to depend on dialing 911 from any phone in the United States and receiving assistance.

Kari’s story and the petition for Kari’s Law have circled the globe. 425,000+ people have signed the petition and it continues to gain support. Below you will find links to the petition, a fundraiser for Kari’s children, a link to Change it for Kari on Facebook and articles from Mark Fletcher of Avaya and a symbol I designed for the campaign so that you can show your support. There are two sizes and are both high-resolution quality. On February 9 2014, Kari’s birthday, the No 9 Needed campaign asks that you show your support by changing your Facebook profile picture to the logo below. You can do the same on Twitter and please share the petition as well. You can use the hashtags #KarisLaw and #No9Needed. Let’s make this a trending topic, let’s do it for Kari!

Change.org - Kari's Law

Change it for Kari - Facebook

A Give Forward Campaign supporting Kari's children - Web

Mark Fletcher - Kari's Lil' Hero | Hotel E911 Check-Up for Owners and Guests | PBX E911 - An Open Letter to the FCC

You may download the image here to change your profile pictures or simply share them. Thanks for your support! You can also download them from a public dropbox folder by click the following links. 400x400 version & 2500x2500 version. (Both Hi-Res quality)