Benton Police Department will participate in the annual Rock One Sock campaign May 21-25. The weeklong awareness campaign culminates with National Missing Children’s Day, which falls on Friday, May 25. Missing Children’s Day is dedicated to encouraging parents, guardians, caregivers and others concerned with the well-being of children to make child safety a priority; it also serves as a reminder to continue efforts to reunite missing children with their families and an occasion to honor those dedicated to the cause.
The brainchild of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), Rock One Sock encourages everyone to join the campaign to get people talking about the issue of the thousands of missing children in America. Participation includes putting on one sock and taking a picture, posting it on social media using the hashtag #RockOneSock or even making a donation to NCMEC.
BNPD Chief Scotty Hodges said you will see a random assortment of socks at the PD on Friday, May 25, when BNPD has chosen to formally observe the week’s cause.
“It always results in some unique photo opportunities, but the important thing is that it makes people ask why, and then we’re able to keep the discussion going and bring more awareness to the fact that we have literally thousands of young people who are not currently spending their childhood with their families as intended. It’s a small step in the right direction, and BNPD is happy to participate every year in hopes of bringing these missing children home.”
During the last 33 years, NCMEC’s national toll-free hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST© (1-800-843-5678), has received more than 4.6 million calls. NCMEC has circulated billions of photos of missing children, assisted law enforcement in the recovery of more than 260,000 missing children and facilitated training for more
than 347,000 law enforcement, criminal/juvenile justice and healthcare professionals. NCMEC’s Team HOPE volunteers have provided resources and emotional support to more than 63,000 families of missing and exploited children.
Additional campaign information will be available on BNPD social media sites throughout the week. For more information about Rock One Sock or NCMEC, visit rockonesock.org or missingkids.org.