What exactly is the Ride for Missing Children?
Sponsored by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children/New York (NCMEC/NY), the Ride for Missing Children is a 100-mile ride made by 120 pledged bicycle riders or "Friends of Missing Children" that raises funds to support prevention education programs and to remember all missing children. More than 2,000 children are reported missing in the United States each day, some in our own community. For most families, this is only a brief scare as the child turns up in a few minutes or hours. But for some, the nightmare of a missing child becomes a grim reality. NCMEC's mission is to help recover missing children, protect all children from sexual exploitation, and assist in the prevention of these crimes.

What is unique about this charity Ride?
- The cyclists ride together at a team pace averaging 14-15 mph.
- The riders are escorted by local law enforcement, which means traffic is halted along the route.
- Riders visit schools along the route to greet children and offer information to raise awareness. The visits are electric as hundreds of children and adults cheer the riders as they enter the school grounds. This is the most gratifying aspect of the ride for most riders.
- During the ride NCMEC/NY staff provide child safety education programs.

How is the money raised distributed?
The funds raised by the Ride for Missing Children remain local to provide case assistance and spearhead prevention education services in Buffalo and across New York State and support the mission of the NY Branch. During 2006 NCMEC/NY:

- Distributed 725,534 posters of missing children
- Recovered 1,703 children through poster distribution and case assistance
- Distributed over 244,521 pieces of prevention education literature
- Conducted 785 education programs with 63,655 participants
- Coordinated 51 child identification programs with 5,545 children and adults
- Conducted 5 training programs with 250 participants held at the Polisseni Law Enforcement Training Center
- Participated in 4 regional conferences for 900 attendees

How much does it cost to participate and what is included?
The minimum pledge amount is $250.  Throughout the day food and drink are provided and there is a closing reception at the end of the ride. All riders receive a high quality, distinctive team bicycle jersey.

Mark your calendar early to get the day off!
Call 716-842-6333 to sign up to ride or volunteer, or visit our website: www.rideformissingchildren.org

Thank you in advance for helping us make our children safer, one child at a time.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt charity and publicly supported organization as defined in sections 509(a)(1) and 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of the Internal Revenue Service Code. Federal ID #52-1328557. All donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

1As reported by David Finkelhour, Heather Hammer, Andrea J. Sedlak, and Dana J. Schultz in "National Estimates of Missing Children: An Overview," National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and Thrownaway Children, Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, October 2002, page 5, an estimated 797,500 children were reported missing in 1999. Thus an average of 2,184 children are reported missing each day.