Demand from local restaurants and taverns for the new “Coasters for Hope” to help find Capital Region missing persons is so large that the print-run for the drink coasters is being immediately increased from 5,000 to full implementation of 50,000 according to program partners Assemblyman Jim Tedisco (R,C,I-Glenville), Doug and Mary Lyall of the Center for Hope, and DeCrescente Distributing Company.
Coasters for Hope, which launched on December 12th, features pictures and information about seven local missing persons that are being printed and distributed by DeCrescente to restaurants and taverns across the Capital Region.
Each drink coaster has a number where people can anonymously call or text a tip to law enforcement about a missing person’s case. A key way to jogging people’s memories in these cases to keep information about missing persons in the public eye.
“The overwhelming demand for the Coaster for Hope is a testament to how many caring and compassionate small businesses owners we have in the Capital Region. Now that we are able to fully expand to 50,000 coasters, there will be 10 times as many opportunities to help generate tips that could lead to a major breakthrough in these cold cases and help find a missing person,” said Tedisco.
“We are overwhelmed by the tremendous support from the restaurants and taverns in the Capital District wanting to display the Coasters for HOPE. This support and the support from DeCresente Beverages may be the catalyst to helping families and friends get the answers to finding their missing loved one,” said Mary Lyall of the Center for Hope, whose daughter Suzanne Lyall, a UAlbany student, has been missing since 1998.
“Thanks to all who have given their support and voice to the Coasters for Hope Program! Due to the overwhelming response and support of this inspirational initiative, we are happy to report that the pilot program will be fully expanded with an additional 50,000 coasters that were ordered today and that will continue to be distributed to bars and restaurants throughout the Capital District! Your heartfelt reaction has demonstrated the true spirit of our communities,” said C.J. DeCrescente, President of DeCrescente Distributing Company.
The Coasters for Hope are featuring the following Capital Region missing persons:
- Suzanne Lyall of Ballston Spa, a 19-year-old UAlbany student missing since 1998
- Ashley Carroll, age 24, of Troy, missing since 2010.
- Craig Frear, age 17, of Scotia, missing since 2004.
- Karen Wilson, age 22, a UAlbany student missing since 1985.
- Lutricia Steele, age 27, of Schenectady, missing since 2008.
- Peter Lorang, age 29, of Charlton, missing since 2001.
- Tammie McCormick, age 14, of Saratoga Springs, missing since 1986.
To submit an anonymous tip about these or any other missing persons case, call 1-800-448-3847; text NYMISSING (+Tip) to 274637; or visit www.troopers.ny.gov and click on CrimeTip Link.
AMECO honors Pina Arcamone, Director General of The Missing Children’s Network, as the recipient of the 2013 Joan Taavon Award.
The Joan Taavon award recognizes employees and volunteers of AMECO member organizations who exhibit extraordinary passion and commitment to the field of missing and exploited children. Named in memory of Joan Taavon, who served as President of Maryland’s Missing and Exploited Children’s Association (MECA), this year’s award was presented at AMECO’s Annual Membership Meeting in October 2013.
Since 1994, Pina has served The Missing Children’s Network, which provides front line services to families who are searching for their missing children. The organization also offers comprehensive educational and prevention programs designed especially for children, parents and professionals. Visit www.enfant-retourquebec.ca to learn more about these programs.
Under Pina’s leadership, The Missing Children’s Network:
- Provides personal safely programs for children, parents and professionals. Every year, the organization delivers 400 personal safety workshops reaching over 10,000 students. In 2012, they also distributed 10,512 safety documents, free of charge to a number of schools, childcare facilities, police stations, and community organizations.
- Places the faces of missing children somewhere they have never been before in Canada – on a postage stamp. This program sends photographs of missing children into the hands of millions of people world-wide and hopefully into the hands of someone who might recognize a missing child.
- Is developing a Family Resource Intervention Team to provide ongoing crisis management to families of missing children.
Gail Chartier, Office Administrator at The Missing Children’s Network, nominated Pina for the award. “Her passion and dedication to the cause goes beyond the bounds of her role as Director General,” Gail said. “Having worked for the Missing Children’s Network since 1994, Ms. Arcamone has had to deal with the ups and downs of a non-profit organization and does so with grace and compassion. Not only does she make herself available for the families that we work with on a day to day basis, but also for the staff, our volunteers, law enforcement, media, our donors and sponsors. Everything she does, she does 150% and with the Network and the cause at heart. After 19 years of working with our missing children’s families they have actually become extensions of her own family and she treats them with the same respect and dignity.”
AMECO congratulates Pina on this much deserved recognition. AMECO’s Executive Director Wendy Jolley-Kabi states, “It is an honor to recognize Pina’s dedication to missing children and her compassion for searching families. Pina represents the many local heroes in our field who dedicate their lives to bringing missing children home. Our families and communities are safer because of her efforts.”
AMECO is a network of trusted nonprofit missing and exploited children’s organizations that assist in the prevention, recovery and reintegration of missing children and the prevention of child exploitation. Their members assist searching families and law enforcement in the recovery of missing children, assist missing and exploited children and their families to gain access to services, and provide prevention and education services to help prevent children from becoming missing or exploited.
AMECO member Enfant-Retour Quebec/The Missing Children’s Network has established a successful Annual Provincial Child ID Day in their community. The event has been a great success each year and Director General Pina Arcamone was kind enough to share information about the event that might be helpful to anyone wanting to start a similar initiative in their communities.
AMECO: How long have you been doing this event?
Pina Arcamone: Our Province-Wide Child ID Day was launched back in 2002. Our corporate partner at that time was McDonald’s Restaurants.
A: How did the idea for the event come about?
PA: In 1993, the Missing Children’s Network launched its Child ID program in Quebec. During the year, we would organize and host a number of ID clinics in and around the Greater Montreal area. A few years later, McDonald’s approached us to host an Annual Child ID Day in all of their Montreal locations. McDonald’s photographed the children as each restaurant owned Polaroids; they also printed all the ID booklets and helped promote the day. We ensured that local law enforcement was present at each location, along with volunteers of the Network. Based on the success of this day, McDonald’s asked if it would be possible to add the North Shore of Montreal to the campaign and the following year, we added the South Shore. Because of the close collaboration we have with law enforcement from all across Québec, we proposed in 2002 a province-wide initiative and McDonald’s enthusiastically jumped on board! Since then, our Annual Child ID Day has been a part of our calendar of events. In 2010, McDonald’s Restaurants passed the torch to a Quebec-based pharmacy chain Groupe Jean Coutu.
A: How much has the event grown over the years? Are more store locations and families participating as the years go on?
PA: The event continues to grow every year. We started with 150 locations and this year, 181 Jean Coutu pharmacies opened their doors and welcomed our families. This year, a well-known radio personality served as honourary spokesperson and with the help of a local agency, we produced a 30-second spot that aired free of charge on most radio stations all across the province. We receive huge media coverage on the days leading to the clinic and on the day itself. This campaign allows us to sensitize the public about the issue of missing and exploited children and discuss the importance of always having up-to-date information of one’s child.
Every year, we complete between 12,000-15,000 ID booklets. We also distribute a safety tool. This year, we designed a Real World and Online Safety bookmark that was given to every child that attended the clinic. All around, it’s a very positive day for all those involved.
I am happy to say that several parents of missing children also volunteer on that day! It’s important to note that following the clinic, we receive calls from several schools that wish to have a personal safety workshop presented to their students.
A: Have you run into any logistical issues? How have you solved them?
PA: We have not encountered any serious issues. We hold three production meetings a year and everyone’s role is pretty much defined. We have developed a number of tools and check lists that allow all the partners to stay on track. We are a well-oiled machine by now!
A: Do you have tips for others as to how they can start a similar annual event in their communities?
PA: Start slow; identify a partner that shares your values and is committed to the well-being of children. A partner that has access to all the photo accessories and can offer several locations. A partner that is willing to invest in kids, help overwrite the printing costs for the booklets/ink pads/height charts and support a media campaign (TV; print, radio, web).
A: Is there anything else you would like to share?
PA: Our Province-Wide Child ID Day is now our single most important child safety campaign of the year. It has helped solidify our relationship with law enforcement and the media and has given a lot of credibility to the organization. As an organization, we are sometimes faced with tough decisions. Last year, we lost the support of Canon Canada for our ID Program. Their support was critical as they supplied us with all the cameras, printers, and photo paper. Canon also replaced free of charge any equipment that was malfunctioning. When they pulled out of the program, we were very disappointed as we did not have the finances to replace the equipment. Plus, we were fundraising in a very weak economy, yet the demands for our services and programs were increasing day-by-day. As a team, we made a decision to eliminate all the numerous independent clinics that we hosted in the year. This was very time-consuming on our already limited and stretched resources. Today, we can now focus on one MAJOR clinic a year (law enforcement like this as well as they too are faced with budgetary cuts and cannot support the demands from the community to host several clinics a year) for our mission, which is to recover missing children and prevent others from disappearing. Anyone that cannot attend the clinic has the option to download our Child Alert APP or download from our website, an information record of their child.
