With the 16th anniversary of the first AMBER Alert and National AMBER Alert Awareness Day set for Friday, U.S. Cellular invites customers to sign up to receive free AMBER alerts via text message. The AMBER Alert program is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement, media, transportation entities and others to send bulletins about child-abduction cases. Since its inception, the AMBER Alert program has led to the safe recovery of more than 542 children, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

To sign up for wireless AMBER Alerts, visit the “About Us” section on www.uscellular.com, www.wirelessamberalerts.org or text the word “Amber” followed by a space and your five-digit ZIP code to short code 26237. For personal assistance visit any U.S. Cellular retail store.

In 2011, AMBER Alerts started being issued via Facebook as well. To view these alerts, visit AMBER Alerts on Facebook site via smartphone, computer tablet or other device.