U.S. Postal Service Unveils AMBER Alert New Social Awareness Postage Stamp

15 January 2006

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 -- The U.S. Postal Service continues its tradition of drawing attention to important social causes by unveiling the AMBER Alert stamp to honor a program dedicated to the rapid recovery of abducted children. AMBER stands for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response. This stamp was unveiled today during the Department of Justice's commemoration of National AMBER Alert Awareness Day.

The chalk pastel illustration by artist Vivienne Flesher shows a reunited mother and child entwined in each other's arms. The type on each stamp and text across the header of the stamp pane reads "AMBER ALERT saves missing children." These 39-cent stamps will be available nationwide in May 2006.

"We're pleased that our stamp program has another opportunity to educate the American people," said Patrick R. Donahoe, Deputy Postmaster General and Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Postal Service. "This stamp says we need each other and at no time is this truth brought to a higher realization than in the case of a missing child."

"The new AMBER Alert stamp is a wonderful way to honor the memory of Amber Hagerman and the success of AMBER Alert," said Regina Schofield, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, who also serves as the National AMBER Alert Coordinator. "This stamp will serve as a reminder about the need for citizens to work together with broadcasters and law enforcement to help recover abducted children."

Joining Donahoe and Schofield at the ceremony were Alberto Gonzalez, Attorney General of the United States; Ernie Allen, President/CEO, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children; Steve Largent, Former U.S. Congressman and Seattle Seahawk football player; and Donna Norris, mother of Amber Hagerman.

The AMBER Alert program originated in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, area in 1996 after the kidnapping and subsequent murder of nine-year-old Amber Hagerman, for whom the program is named. Other states and communities soon began adopting similar plans, and by 2005 a national alert system coordinated by the U.S. Department of Justice extended across all 50 states.

AMBER alerts, which have helped in the recovery of over 240 children, can mobilize the community during the first critical hours following a kidnapping and provide the police with a wide network of eyes and ears to assist in the search.

Organizations that support the AMBER Alert plan include the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Polly Klaas Foundation.

To see the commemorative stamps and other images from the 2006 Commemorative Stamp Program, visit the Postal Store at http://www.usps.com/shop and click on Release Schedule in the Collector's Corner.

Current U.S. stamps, as well as a free comprehensive catalog, are available by toll-free phone order at 1-800-STAMP-24. A wide selection of stamps, other philatelic items, and licensed products are available at the Postal Store at http://www.usps.com/shop. Beautifully framed prints of original stamp art for delivery straight to the home or office are available at http://www.postalartgallery.com.

Since 1775, the Postal Service and its predecessor, the Post Office Department, has connected friends, families, neighbors and businesses by mail. It is an independent federal agency that visits 144 million homes and businesses every day, six days a week and is the only service provider delivering to every address in the nation. The Postal Service receives no taxpayer dollars for routine operations, but derives its operating revenues solely from the sale of postage, products and services. With annual revenues of more than $69 billion, it is the world's leading provider of mailing and delivery services, offering some of the most affordable postage rates in the world. The Postal Service delivers more than half of the world's mail volume - - some 212 billion letters, advertisements, periodicals and packages a year -- and serves seven and a half million customers each day at its 37,000 retail locations nationwide. Its website, usps.com, attracts more than 21 million visitors each month.

Source: prnewswire

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