FACes & PlaceS
Around Town 2004

Charitable Hope: Operation Lookout, 20th anniversary*
by Megan Wetzel

Imagine a beautiful summer day, the sort of day where you thank Mother Nature for the sun on your face and the wind blowing through your hair. Now imagine playing with your child in the yard, and walking away briefly only to come back to a quiet stillness. Now imagine the pain of losing a child. Although the summer season is when most abduction’s occur, the holidays are more painful than ever. Seeing one less place setting at the dinner table and shopping for one less child is a hard reality to swallow. Every 40 seconds another child goes missing and whether by abduction by a stranger, a parent, or a runaway, we all agree that missing children deserve every chance to be found. These children are often victims of abuse, being lured, exploited, undernourished, under educated and forced to live like fugitives needing to be rescued.

Founded in 1984 by Melody and Michael Gibson, OPERATIONLOOKOUT® National Center for Missing Youth’s mission is to give help and hope to families of missing children. With each call, they walk parents through the emotional hardships of having a missing child and give them immediate, investigative casework in partnership with law enforcement and other agencies.

Operation Lookout's services are extensive and always free to victim families. Services include: a 24-hour missing child toll free HELP LINE, search assistance, reunification planning, victim support, coordination with law enforcement, investigative casework, legal and social services referral, poster design, and photo and poster distribution. The 24-hour HELP LINE (1-800-LOOKOUT) can be called to report a missing child, a sighting, for advice, search assistance and information.

Operation Lookout was awarded the OJJDP (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention) and INPOM (Institute for Nonprofit Organization Management) Award or Expertise in the Field of Governance. The organization has recently been honored, as it has in past years, by a Proclamation from Washington’s States Governor Gary Locke for “Exemplary service to missing children, victim families and communities nationwide.” Since 1984 this award-winning center has helped over 14,000 missing children, and has an overall case-resolve rate of 82 percent.

Michael Gibson, head of casework and founding president of OPERATION LOOKOUT, stresses the need for more media attention for their organization:
“ For years, missing children centers have struggled to bring missing children to the forefront of media attention. Sadly, the issue, all too often, falls behind the headlines. This horrific plight needs continued attention, and the media has the ability to make the difference in the lives of many of these innocent children who are out there, somewhere. Dozens of children were found within hours when the media utilized its resources to help in the search."

When a story is surrounded by media attention, awareness is brought forth, and most likely, the child found. The success of the AMBER Alert program is due mostly to the instant attention of the Media.

Operation Lookout encourages the outreach of volunteers with the Missing Children Center near you. Many volunteers are used for activities such as: mass mailings, hanging up posters, helping with fundraising events, and getting the word out.

Though the statistics and stories are staggering, Michael Gibson says, “Many of these children are found and returned to their families. But that doesn't just happen. It is the result of committed, diligent, hard work by caseworkers in their search for a missing child. It is also the result of a watchful public and media involvement that makes this a potentially wonderful partnership with child-search centers."

There are many ways that you can help. Organizations such as these thrive on donations. To make a donation, you can go online, or contact them directly. The website is www.OperationLookout.org. Other ways to help include: downloading and hanging posters in public places, such as the gym, grocery store, or a movie theater. Add the Operation Outlook link to your company website and check the missing children database directory daily. The most useful thing you can contribute to this organization is awareness, so learn more, educate others and never give up hope.

*Editor's Note: Obviously OPERATION LOOKOUT is not a local organization. However, I was impressed with its mission and thought it worth sharing with others who may not have heard of it. Megan Wetzel has done a great job with this article!