Valassis will distribute a four-page insert this week to 44 million households, celebrating the 25th anniversary of its “Have you seen me?” program, which helps to find missing children.
The media and marketing services provider has partnered with the US Postal Service and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children on the initiative. The insert’s two-page layout includes information on 25 children in six US regions. Consumers will receive the inserts the week of May 23.
Valassis’ goals are to recover missing children, raise awareness of the issue, serve as an active deterrent against child abduction, and “ensure that no child is ever forgotten,” said Vince Giuliano, SVP of government relations at Valassis and a member of the NCMEC’s board of directors.
“The call to action is to let Americans know that a picture of the most powerful tool for parents who are searching for children,” he said. “So they should take a moment, look at these pictures and if they know something, call the toll-free number to help case workers piece together information.”
Valassis has also specified the inserts’ information for regions where law enforcement believes there is the greatest chance of recovering a missing child. Each insert has information about 25 missing children.
Each insert also includes photos of Cherrie Mahan, the first missing child to appear in the program as an eight-year old in 1985. The inserts have photographs of Mahan as a child and renderings of what she might look like today as a 33-year-old.
In February, Valassis placed child-awareness posters, each with a call to action, in 33,000 post offices across the country. The posters also highlighted the “Have you seen me?” program’s silver anniversary.
