New technology, like social networks, not only reconnects old friends and relatives but sheds light on cold-case crimes, most recently helping to solve a 45-year-old hit-and-run death.
This month, The Missing Children’s Network in Canada goes old-school in its effort to help locate missing children by placing the pictures of those missing on postage stamps.
The timing of the campaign coincides with May being National Missing Children’s Month in Canada. Lowe Roche created a site, MissingKidsStamps.ca, which explains how to create the stamps for children missing, along with brief bios about the kids.
The technology for users to create personalized stamps had been around for years, but The Missing Children’s Network believes this is the first time this medium has been used for this purpose.
“The concept really is ingenious, and in line with our mission,” said Pina Arcamone, director general of The Missing Children’s Network. “We’ve made a commitment to the families that we work with to use every channel available to us to help them find their loved ones. The postage stamp is so universal, and passes through so many hands each day – it offers a way of paying homage to these children so they will never be forgotten.”
For those who pay bills mostly online and use few stamps, the site offers the option of creating an email footer to place at the end of each email that’s similar to the postage stamp layout.
Canadian residents can also purchase books of stamps at Missing Children’s Network events taking place throughout May.
“When all is said and done, this initiative is about bringing home as many missing children as we can, and honoring those who are still missing,” said Monica Ruffo, CEO of Lowe Roche.
Since its inception, the Missing Children’s Network has helped locate more than 870 children.