Thousands of avid tweeters will be joined online by big names from the world of film, TV and sport today (Friday) for ‘The Big weet’ for Missing Children, a 24-hour tweetathon aiming to find missing children on International Missing Children’s Day.
Led by UK charity Missing People, ‘The Big Tweet’ aims to find missing children by encouraging members of the public and high profile Tweeters to share appeals for missing children throughout the day. The team behind the campaign will be tweeting from the Twitter offices in Soho, London and joined by guests throughout the day, including members of the Missing People Choir, who finished 8th in Britain’s Got Talent 2017.
Unitil 23:59 tonight, Missing People will tweet an appeal for a missing child every 30 minutes. The Missing People helpline is open 24/7 for anyone who sees their own appeal, or has information about a missing child. The online event not only helps the charity to find and raise awareness of missing children but also helps to reassure families who have been waiting years for news of their missing child.
One child to be featured on the charity’s Twitter page is Damien Nettles, who went missing from the Isle of Wight in 1996, aged 16.
Val, mother of missing Damien, has said:
“We still hold onto hope Damien will be returned to our family. Ongoing support from the charity Missing People has helped me to keep going. Meeting other families like mine helps me to know I am not alone with the emotional roller-coaster.”
Jo Youle, CEO of Missing People said:
“A staggering 24 children go missing every hour, and that’s in the UK alone. On International Missing Children’s Day on 25 May, and in the year that Missing People marks its 25th anniversary, we implore the public to get behind the Big Tweet to really make this year count.”
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The Big Tweet 2018 is being supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, who have raised a combined total of over £5million for the charity since 2009.
Text HOPE to 70707 to donate £3 and help the charity Missing People to Find Every Child. Text costs £3 plus network charge. Missing People receives 95% of your donation. Obtain bill payer’s permission. Customer care 02083924571. Charity No 1020419.
