Press & News

MotoPhoto® Partners with National Organizations to Protect Children

Dayton, Ohio, - March 1, 2002 - MotoPhoto® has signed an agreement to be the exclusive photo-finishing & portrait studio retailer participating in M.I.L.K. (Managing Information on Lost Kids), a nationwide program aimed at aiding in the recovery of missing and exploited children. MotoPhoto has joined with MSN (Microsoft), MetLife, Canon, Imagery Concepts, the Iams Company, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), and The National Safe Kids Campaign in this nationwide effort.

M.I.L.K. incorporates an electronic Child ID form that resides on the users PC. It is designed to provide parents with a convenient location to store a digital photo and identification information regarding their children. Should a child become lost or missing, with just a click, their Child ID can be printed or sent via email to the proper authorities and forwarded to the NCMEC. This identification information can then be broadcast to over 17,600 police departments and the vast database of NCMEC Poster Partner Program members.

The M.I.L.K. Child ID eliminates frantic search efforts. Vital information resides in the privacy of the user’s own computer, not misplaced in a drawer or cabinet. Every six months, users receive an automatic reminder to update their child’s photo free of charge at participating MotoPhoto locations.

The M.I.L.K. Child ID is packaged with the Kids Owner’s Manual software. The software contains the Child ID and safety information from the NCMEC and the National SAFE KIDS Campaign. Electronic brochures contained within the software cover issues such as proper car seat installation, choosing a babysitter, bicycle safety, what to do should a child run away or be abducted, how a child can be safe on the Internet and many other topics.

According to the NCMEC, over 2,000 children are reported missing every day. Authorities ask parents for a current photo and the child’s height, weight and eye color; however, 34% of parents can not answer these three questions and 40% do not have a current photo. The NCMEC states, a recent photo, quickly circulated, greatly improves the recovery rate of missing children. The Child ID meets the standards established by the NCMEC for providing critical visual and narrative information to police and quickly provides this vital information to proper authorities. The primary goal of this program is to establish the world's largest electronic dragnet for child recovery.

MotoPhoto will help by providing, FREE, the necessary digital photograph and Kids Owner’s Manual software to enable families to quickly respond with the appropriate information if their child should become lost or missing. Parents and their children may visit a participating MotoPhoto store and have a digital picture taken of the child. The picture, a headshot, is saved on a floppy disc and given to the parent along with a free Kids Owner’s Manual CD. The parent can follow the instructions for loading the software on their home computer and importing the picture from the floppy disc to the Child ID.

Parents may visit a MotoPhoto store anytime to receive their free digital picture and Kids Owner’s Manual software. Software will also be available as a download from www.MotoPhoto.com. MotoPhoto will also be participating in National Missing Children’s Day on May 25, 2002 (proclaimed by Ronald Reagan on May 25, 1983) with a “MotoPhoto Protect Your Child Day.”

Imagery Concepts developed the Kids Owner’s Manual program in conjunction with the NCMEC and is supported by over 17,000 law enforcement agencies across the country. Imagery Concepts provides cutting-edge, quality and user-friendly imaging software to manage home and office documents, and offers the Kids Owner’s Manual program through its Home Organizer® software. (see www.home-organizer.com) The NCMEC was created as a public/private partnership to help in the search for missing and exploited children. It represents the best of government and private sector joint efforts and addresses one of America’s most complex issues: the victimization of children. (See www.missingkids.com)

MotoPhoto, Inc. is a Dayton, Ohio-based franchisor and operator of 331 one-hour photofinishing labs and portrait studios in the U.S. and Canada. For more information about MotoPhoto, visit the company’s website at www.motophoto.com.