In 1983, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed May 25 as National Missing Children's Day. “In each of the past 15 years, family and friends of missing children have joined together to plan events in communities across America to raise public awareness about the issue of missing children and the need to address this national problem,” according to the Juvenile Justice Journal.
 
In keeping with that tradition, an important annual event, which is sponsored by the US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE/ OJJDP (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention), is the National Missing Children’s Day Poster Contest. Each January, students from across the country are invited to submit an original work of art depicting their own sensitivity to the issue of missing kids in honor of the Missing Children’s Day, May 25th.
 
Students are encouraged to create artwork for the contest in any one or combination of mediums: acrylics, watercolor, pencil drawings, charcoal, magic markers, spray paint, and/or pastels.
 
Missing children’s centers throughout the US invite local schools in their states to encourage 5th grade students to enter the contest. Each participating center selects one state-level winner. That winning poster is then submitted in February into the national level OJJDP competition. The national winner, which is chosen the first week of April, will receive a United States Savings Bond and a trip for two to the International Missing Children’s Day ceremony in Washington D.C. in May!
 
The national winner and a guest will get to learn first hand some of the efforts being accomplished by the Federal Government to help us bring our missing children home, and will afford a great opportunity for student to visit our Nation’s Capital and shake the hands of United States Senators and Representatives.

In Washington State, OPERATION LOOKOUT® National Center for Missing Youth, the state’s only child-search organization, and a member of AMECO (Association of Missing and Exploited Children’s Organizations) notifies a number of local schools of the event each year, which always engenders numerous, creative entries.
 
To the local state winner, Operation Lookout presents a US Savings Bond, a Certificate of Merit, and a framed copy of the student’s winning poster from Operation Lookout’s president, Michael Gibson. Certificates of Recognition are also issued from the OJJDP to all students who participate in the annual contest.

Of the OJJDP Poster Contest, Gibson says, “We are proud of all the students who submit entries each year.”
 
Of National Missing Children’s Day, May 25, Gibson said, “It is an important time to remind all Americans not to forget about these children who all deserve a chance to be found.”


The annual OJJDP Poster Contest is a wonderful way of giving 5th grade students an opportunity to participate in this important national event to help children understand the plight of missing kids.
 
If your school would like to participate in this event, please contact our Public Affairs Director via email at info@operationlookout.org. Parents of 5th grade students are also encouraged to suggest participation in the poster contest to their school principal. Upon request, the school will be sent a packet of information in January, including the contest rules and guidelines.
 
We are proud of our past winners from Operation Lookout’s local-level competition. Their press articles and posters are available for your viewing here.