Operation Safe Return

[Crystal Dragon]

School starts today in many of our communities.
In today’s age of “Being a Parent” things are not so simple… not anymore.
When most of us were kids, we and our parents thought nothing of letting us walk out the door, down the road, several roads actually, to either catch a school bus or even walk to school… alone.
Now, school busses will not even deposit your kids at your front door unless you are physically standing outside waiting to receive them. Same thing for bus stops. If you get stuck at work and can’t make it to pick up little Johnny or Susie, the person coming had better be on your emergency contact list, and properly vetted by the school.
To be a parent in today’s world… well it is a terrifying thing.
Not only should you be worried about the swine flu and bacterial infections and MRSA but now you can’t even wave at people and just who is that man you keep seeing standing by the tree near little Susie’s bus stop?
Criminal activities abound and none are more abundant than those targeted at kids.
From pedophiles to kidnapping to all sorts of sexual deviancy, today’s kids are not safe like we were.
But, there IS something you can do!
Back when we were kids, computers were not an everyday household word.
Today, they are.
Whether you are a parent or grandparent, take a few minutes to take a simple USB jump drive/flash drive/thumb drive, and enter all the information you can about the child. Make one for every child. Include birth dates, complete descriptions, including scars or birthmarks. Dig out the latest picture or how about just take some new ones right now as kids grow overnight and put them onto the jump drive. Then, do not just toss it into the drawer and hope you never ever have to use it, but make a point of once a month, update it. When the new school pictures come out, be sure to include the new ones.
Most Police departments offer these flash/jump drives free of charge to parents. They call this program Operation Safe Return.

If your child is missing (and I PRAY this never happens to you!!) the first few hours are crucial to finding your little one. Police can use the flash drive information to make flyers and alert the media in a matter of minutes.
Statistics show that the first 24 hours are the most critical to recovering a child.
Imagine the terror or realizing that YOUR child or grandchild has become missing.
Now, imagine trying to be coherent, and trying to remember all the important details about your child… all of these strangers asking you all these questions and all you want is to see your child safe and back home…
and just where is the most recent picture you have?
… make the jump drive…
Keep it handy and pray that you never have to use it.

[Victor Hugo]

Thanks for the information Crystal.