Image: International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children, 2023
Today, May 25th, is International Missing Children Day. The purpose of this day is to raise awareness for missing children, parent education and measures we can take to protect children. It honours those who haven’t been found yet and celebrates the ones who have. In order to continue to raise awareness, we are proud to be sharing some ways you can support this cause, including charities and further education.
Where did it all begin?
For hundreds of years, children have gone missing. But this international day started one year after Etan Patz, a six-year-old boy, went missing in Manhattan on May 25th 1979. It was put in place to honour his memory and ensure that future missing children had all the help possible.
What are the statistics?
In the UK, the charity Missing People says that of the 353,000 missing incidents, 215,000 of these incidents are children. Check out the link above for further statistics and a deeper dive into the reasons why children go missing.
In the USA, it was estimated by the charity Child Find of America that 2,300 children are reported missing everyday in America.
Even one child missing is horrific, let alone these high statistics. We should be vigilant and proactive everyday, but let’s pay tribute to May 25th with some education and support.
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is one of the largest nonprofit organisations in America who proactively assist ‘victims, families, law enforcement, social service agencies, mental health agencies and others when they need help with a missing, exploited, or recovered child’ 1. The work they have done is incredible, explore their website to find out what they have achieved in the last 40 years.
In addition to donation, there are so many other ways to support this organisation. From volunteering to events, check out their support page.
The Children’s Society
The Children’s Society is a UK based nonprofit organisation ‘working to transform the hopes and happiness of young people facing abuse, exploitation and neglect’ 2. Not only do they aid in cases where children have gone missing, but they also help in every other aspect of a child’s life. Their goal is to help create a society built for all children and to make them feel safe.
Want to help? From campaigns to fundraising, head over to their ‘How You Can Help‘ page to learn more.
International Center for Missing & Exploited Children
This organisation is much like NCMEC, but they work globally. Their mission is that every child deserves a safe childhood, working to protect children who go missing all over the world. ICMEC was actually formed when Belgian law enforcement reached out to NCMEC, but found there was little that could be done from America – so an international organisation was founded.
In addition to donation pages and community support, their website has an online learning platform to share resources on how we can best protect children. Find out more here.
Reunite
Reunite is an international charity that originally starting in 1987 to aid parents through the legalities of child abducations. As they grew, the organisation began providing a wider range of support – specifically the complications that come with child abductions and what happens when children are taken across boarders.
There are so many ways to get involved and support this incredible charity. Find out more on their website.
Missing People
Missing People is a UK charity who not only advocate for finding missing people and reunion, but also provide support to people who have been affected by someone in their life going missing. Last year, they organised an event week surrounding International Missing Children Day by focusing each day on issues surrounding children who go missing.
Their website is full of information, resources and ways that you can help.
What else can we do?
It’s important to remember that these instances are larger than us as individuals and charities. The problem, of course, lies with the people who commit abductions, etc. However, there are small steps we can take to educate ourselves, provide support and advocate for a better future for children.
- Educate Yourself, Learn More
- Support Victims Families
- Raise Awareness
If you are into Youtube/Podcasts, the one true crime Youtuber we would genuinely recommend for sensitive and reliable tellings of cases is Kendall Rae. Rae has worked with NCMEC throughout her career to bring justice to families and children. The purpose of her videos is not to talk about true crime and get views, but to genuinely try to make a difference and advocate for awareness and solving cases. Check out her Youtube Channel here.
Sources:
- https://www.missingkids.org/home
- https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/about-us
with love,
becky
Author
