USING THE POWER OF THE MAIL--USPS DELIVER CALL TO HELP LOCATE MISSING CHILDREN

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USING THE POWER OF THE MAIL

VALASSIS, NCMEC, USPS DELIVER CALL TO HELP LOCATE MISSING CHILDREN





Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the “Have You Seen Me?” program that helps locate missing children, the Postal Service this week will deliver more than 44 million special mailers nationwide.



The mailer, created by Valassis, has been customized for six different regions within the United States and features 25 missing children specific to that part of the country.



Valassis, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and USPS have been working to reunite missing children with their families through the “Have You Seen Me?” program and the power of the U.S. Mail since 1985.



According to NCMEC officials, an estimated 800,000 children in America each year are reported missing — more than 2,000 each day. As a direct result of leads generated by this program, 149 children have been safely returned to their families.



“We don’t just deliver the mail, we deliver hope,” said PMG Jack Potter during anniversary ceremonies in Washington, DC. “The men and women of the Postal Service provide 500,000 extra pairs of eyes, always open, always watchful, always hopeful that we’ll play a small part in reuniting families.”



Success stories



Joining Potter at yesterday’s event were Jude Densley, a Postal Inspector in San Francisco, and James Pantoja, Postmaster of Naco, AZ, both of whom were recognized earlier this week during ceremonies at the U.S. Department of Justice for their separate roles in recovering missing children.



Densley received a Certificate of Honorable Mention for her efforts to recover an 11-year-old girl and seek justice for a 17-year-old girl kidnapped by the same individual.



Pantoja received the “Missing Children’s Citizen Award” for his efforts in locating a 9-year-old boy who had been abducted in North Carolina and taken to Tombstone, AZ. Sales and Service Associates Anthony Palma and Denultra Camp assisted in this recovery and also were honored ( 5/22/09).



Special cancellation



To reinforce the importance of its partnership with Valassis and the NCMEC — and the need to find missing children — the Postal Service next month will cancel stamped mail nationwide using a special cancellation bearing the words “Never Stop Looking For Missing Children” and silhouettes of a boy and girl.

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