UK charity Missing People partners with Roma for new social campaign

Roma announced on Sunday that it would be using publicity generated by the club’s transfer announcements this summer to shine a spotlight on individual cases of missing children around the world.

With the announcement on social media of each new player signed by the club, Roma will create videos featuring children currently missing from home.

The club worked with the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in the United States and Telefono Azzurro to launch the campaign and so far, 14 children – 6 from Italy and 8 from the United States - have appeared across the first four videos released.

Now, thanks to a new partnership between Missing People and Roma, the club’s next transfer announcement will also feature a UK version of the video and feature four missing British children.

Missing People’s CEO Jo Youle said: “AS Roma is giving us a fantastic opportunity to reach a wide audience by sharing appeals for missing children and young people with their millions of fans. More than 80,000 children are reported missing in the UK each year, with two percent, or 1,600 children and young people, remaining missing for longer than a week.

“Raising awareness among as many people as possible is crucial. Anything we can do to get the word out about children and young people who have disappeared is welcome.

“As well as sharing appeals through the media, on our website and via social media, Missing People provides free, confidential specialist support through our 116 000 helpline which is available 24 hours a day, and we also support missing children and adults, and their loved ones, who are left behind using text and email.”

The concept of the Roma campaign was inspired by American music band Soul Asylum’s 1993 video for ‘Runaway Train’, which drew attention to 36 missing children across four different versions of the video released in the United States, the UK and Australia.

“We’re delighted to be joined by Missing People in this campaign,” said Paul Rogers, head of strategy at AS Roma. “Our goal is to raise awareness about the plight of missing children globally and having already drawn attention to children missing in Italy and the United States, it’s important that we can widen that search to other countries around the world.

“Someone goes missing every 90 seconds in the UK and Missing People work every day to offer a lifeline to the thousands of people who run away or go missing each year in the UK and help them reconnect with their families. If by partnering together on this campaign, our social media platforms can help, even in a small way, in the search for these particular children featured or just bring about wider awareness of the work organisations like Missing People do then it will be more than worth it.”

To find out more about the work Missing People do, please visit their website or follow them on Twitter @missingpeople.

If you are in the UK, you can donate to the Missing People charity via text as a simple way to help them continue to offer a lifeline for missing people and their families. Text HOPE to 70707 to donate a one-off donation of £3. To read terms and conditions, please click here.