LIVONIA, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Delivering hope to missing children and their families is at the core of a program that commemorates its 30th anniversary this month. Valassis, a leader in intelligent media delivery, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) have been working to reunite missing children with their families through the Have You Seen Me?® program since it first launched on May 24,1985.
The names and faces of missing children are featured across Valassis’ RedPlum® portfolio delivered in the mail and newspaper and on www.redplum.com. Valassis leverages the reach of its products and targeting capabilities to identify the best opportunity for recovering a missing child. People taking just a few minutes to look at a photo are empowered to potentially bring a child home and have led to the direct recovery of 158 missing children.
At the recent NCMEC Hope Awards in Washington, D.C., Valassis received special mention in commemoration of the 30-year milestone. “The Have You Seen Me? program has changed the way America searches for missing children by delivering their photos to over 100 million homes each week,” said Ronald O. Perelman, MacAndrews & Forbes Incorporated Chairman and CEO, a special guest and presenter at the event. “Photos are the number one tool in the search for missing children and we are pledging our commitment to this program to ensure it continues for another 30 years.”
The longevity and success of this program are a testament to how a business, government agency and non-profit advocacy organization have built upon their core competencies to direct attention to the nearly 500,000 children reported missing each year. Offering hope to missing children and searching families and providing law enforcement with a powerful tool – a picture that reaches more than 100 million households each week – remains at the heart of this program.
“Since creating the affiliation with the USPS and NCMEC 30 years ago, we have directly recovered 158 missing children,” said Rob Mason, Valassis Chief Executive Officer and President. “Our associates are passionate about this program. We are committed to and proud of the hope we deliver to thousands of missing children and their families.”
Valassis’ Have You Seen Me? program is based on four simple goals:
- help find missing children;
- raise awareness about missing children and sensitivity to the issue of missing and exploited children;
- serve as a deterrent to would-be abductors; and
- make sure that no missing child is ever forgotten.
Valassis and NCMEC joined the USPS for the unveiling of a special edition stamp at a first-day-of-issue ceremony at the National Postal Forum in Anaheim, Calif. on May 18 to further raise awareness to find missing children. The first-class Forever® stamp features the forget-me-not flower – the symbol of International Missing Children’s Day, celebrated along with National Missing Children’s Day, each May 25.
To learn more about efforts to help in the recovery of missing children, visit www.missingkids.org. The special edition stamp is available at www.usps.com/shop.
About Valassis
Valassis is a leader in intelligent media delivery, providing over 15,000 clients with innovative media solutions to influence consumers wherever they plan, shop, buy and share. By integrating online and offline data combined with powerful insights, Valassis precisely targets its clients’ most valuable shoppers, offering unparalleled reach and scale. NCH Marketing Services, Inc. is a Valassis subsidiary and RedPlum® is its consumer brand. Its signature Have You Seen Me? ® program delivers hope to missing children and their families. For insights on intelligent media delivery, visit www.valassis.com. Valassis is a wholly owned subsidiary of Harland Clarke Holdings Corp., which is comprised of companies focused on optimizing customer relationships through multiple channels. Its major business units−Scantron, Harland Clarke and Valassis−are recognized as leading providers of marketing services, transaction solutions, education services, and intelligent media delivery that create millions of customer touch points annually for their clients. Harland Clarke Holdings Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc. For more information please visit www.harlandclarkeholdings.com.