Every May 25, which is the anniversary of Etan Patz's disappearance, is recognized as National Missing Children's Day. It is an acknowledgement of the commitment to help locate and recover missing children like Etan and the promise to never forget a child no matter how long they have been missing. It also serves as a reminder to parents, guardians, families and communities of the need to make child safety a priority. NCMEC was inspired by National Missing Children’s Day to create the Take 25 Campaign ( www.take25.org), a national grassroots safety initiative that asks families, educators, community leaders and others to take 25 minutes to talk to children about safety. NCMEC partners with organizations around the country and provides free resources to help get these conversations started. In 2012, there were more than 11,000 Take 25 events in over 1,900 cities throughout the United States and abroad. With more than 800 local, regional, and national organizations partnering with the National Center, 2013 promises to be the most successful yet.
