Green Ribbon campaign raises ececccccccc0c0000000000e awareness of missing children By WILMA BLOKHUIS Oakville Beaver Staff % his month Child Find Ontario launched its third annual monthâ€" _ long Green Ribbon of Hope campalgn to create awareness about the issue of missing children and to seek their safe and expedient return. The Green Ribbon of Hope camâ€" paign originated with the students of Holy Cross Secondary School in St. Catharines following the abduction and subsequent murder of Kristen French. In Memory of Kristen, the students decidâ€" ed their idea for the Green Ribbon of Hope to be used exclusively by Child Find as an awareness campaign. Child Find, in turn, has incorporated the month long Green Ribbon campaign with Missing Children‘s Day, observed annually on May 25th. Missing Children‘s Day has been recognized annually since May 25, 1980, in the United States. Missing Children‘s Day and the Green Ribbon of Hope campaign are not only initiatives of Child Find Ontario, based in Oakville, but also Child Find Canada, which has recently moved its head office to Oakville as well. Both are located at 710 Dorval Dr. OAKVILLE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY g »mmmmmmmwmmmÂ»ï¬ y 7 PLANT SALE OF PERENNIALS ( _ "TRADMNONOF EXCHLENCE _ ) of HOPE St. Paul‘s United Church 454 Rebecca Street May 21st 9:30 am â€" noon EXCELLENT PRICES By Trisha Romance Child Find is distributing about 300,000 green ribbons across Ontario, and 44,000 of them were looped and pinned recently by student volunteers at T. A. Blakelock High School. The ribâ€" bons are available at TD Bank branches across Ontario, and at some businesses, schools, and police offices. Last year, 55,908 children were listâ€" ed as missing across Canada. "While many were runaways â€" often repeat runaways â€" 407 were the. victims of parental abduction and 61 were the victims of stranger abduction," states Jackie Cutmore, executive direcâ€" tor of Child Find Ontario. "It is Child Find‘s intent that the Green Ribbon of Hope be recognized as a symbol to remember missing children and to seek their safe and expedient return." A breakdown of the 1993 statistics for missing children shows 43,102 were runaways; 9,959 were reported missing for unknown reasons; 1,834 disappeared from institutional care and treatment centres; 543 wandered of or got lost; 407 were parental abductions; 61 were abducted by strangers and 26 have gone missing by accident. "Of the 55,908 cases for last year, 52,521 children were recovered," said Cutmore. Child Find Ontario is recognizing its 1011 Uppeér Middle Rd. Upper Oakville Shopping Centre (905) 842â€"6114 COMMUNITY/ NONâ€"PROFIT GROUPS CHURCH DIRECTORY....... Complete Listing.................... ENTERTAINMENT Top 10 Weekly Movies..... Top 10 Weekly Videos..... Oakville Symphony Orchestra.. Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts TRGAIFQ HALTON SPECIAL EVENTS Peach Tree Gallery art frame shop. Framed +669 at the 10th year of its commitment to reducing the incidence of missing children. Large posters with photographs of missing children and brief descriptions including birth date, hometown, age, and when the child was last seen, are widely distributâ€" ed to assist in their recovery. The organization has grown from a single chapter in London, Ont., to 17 chapters across Ontarlo including Child Find‘s Case Administration staff work closely with law enforcement agencies, Immigration, Customs, External Affairs, the RCMP‘s Missing Children‘s Registry, as well as parents, guardians and other agencies. On Sept. 21, 1993, Child Find was endorsed by the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, and was previously endorsed by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. Child Find operates a confidential national 24â€"hour a day toll free hotline â€" 1â€"800â€"387â€"7962. 5049 5261 ATTENTION SENIORS! ATTENTION HOUSEWIVES! ATTENTION MATURED/OVERWEIGHT FIGURES uw _ _ Services Available ALSO AVAILABLE: 4â€"WEEK, 6â€"WEEK 8â€"WEEK PROGRAMS (PRICES VARY ACCORDING mm mm ces s uy INCHBES aWElGy PFI4â€" EXERCISE PROGRAM | THERMO TRIM BODY ON TONIN _ NoOW oNLY WRAPS OR E.M.S. Crime of the Week... CHILD FIND.............. QUESTION OF THE WEEK QUOTE OF THE DAY.. RECIPES..... SENIORS.... SCHOOL DIRECTORY. + E.M.S. + Facials, Manicures, Pedicures, Waxing! + "Stop Smoking" with Laser Therapy + Foot Massage (Hands, Laser Therapy) 3455 FAIRVIEW ST., BURLINGTON 5557 5012 5018 5015