About 800,000 children are reported missing every year in the U.S., and Saratoga business leaders Sam and Linda Palazzole are making sure Capital Region children aren’t part of that number.
I wanted to give back to the community and thought one of the best ways to do it was to do something that will protect our children from exploitation and abduction, said Sam Palazzole, a partner in Saratoga Builders.
Palazzole, in conjunction with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), opened an office to serve the Capital District on Monday, Aug. 1, in Saratoga Springs. The space was donated by Saratoga Center for Family. Soon-to-retire Saratoga Springs police officer John Kelly will work out of the office and visit schools and community events to spread awareness about child abduction and exploitation.
What John will be doing is going into schools throughout the Capital Region delivering education programs to children and teachers, primarily to teach them how to avoid abduction and teach them how to avoid exploitation, in particular internet safety,` said Palazzole.
Kelly is already a familiar face in Saratoga city schools. He spent at least 15 years of his law enforcement career working with children and young adults in the community.
`We make them understand. We show them what other have done that have gotten themselves abducted [or exploited],` said Kelly. `An adult can preach to them but if we show them real cases that have happened, then kids can kind of relate to what’s going on.`
Kelly said internet safety will get special emphasis since an increasing number of missing children cases involve running away or being lured out of their home by a child predator online.
`We want to try to discourage them from getting into these conversations and relationships online they think they’re having,` said Kelly. `Definitely never meet anybody who you’ve met online. We try to stress that.`
The NCMEC local branch won’t necessarily be something the public can walk into for information or go in crisis. Instead, it will serve as a base for Kelly to organize and distribute his prevention tools and education materials through programs he coordinates.
`The opening of this office and hiring of John Kelly will bring to fruition a four-year goal we’ve had to establish a local office to serve the educational needs of children, parents and law enforcement,` said Palazzole.
There are already similar offices in Rochester, Buffalo and Utica with NCMEC headquarters in Virginia. Palazzole said the reason a NCMEC office hasn’t opened in the Capital Region before now is that nobody made it happen.
`New York State is the most active state in state offices in the country. There’s no reason why one was lacking here, it was just nobody took a personal interest,` said Palazzole.
Palazzole took a personal interest because of his long-time friendship with John Walsh, host of `America’s Most Wanted` and father of 6-year-old Adam Walsh, who went missing in the ’80s and was later found dead.
`It was a combination of our relationship with John and our commitment to the community to never let this happen here,` said Palazzole.
A fundraiser has been held since 2007 to raise money for the Saratoga NCMEC office, since its funded completely through private donations. The fourth annual fundraiser will be help on Friday, Oct. 28, at Saratoga National Golf Course and will feature a Halloween masquerade gala.
`All the money we raise stays local,` said Palazzole.
In addition to educating in the schools, Kelly will also present prevention programs at community events where a child can get a child ID with fingerprints and pertinent demographic information.
`God forbid they go missing, [parents] will have all the necessary information immediately at their fingertips for law enforcement to activate,` said Palazzole.
The NCMEC office will also give law enforcement a chance to brush up on how to handle child abductions.
`They don’t have to deal with child abduction very often [around here] but in the same token they also need up-to-date information so that when and if that situation occurs, they know exactly what to do, when to do and how to do it,` said Palazzole.
In 2009, there were 2,449 children reported missing in the 11 county Capital Region and 20,000 in New York State, according to information from NCMEC.
Kelly will conduct a program on human trafficking in the fall and Palazzole said law enforcement is coming from all over New York State to attend.
`Our prime responsibility is prevention through education,` said Palazzole.
Kelly said his own children are part of the reason why he continues to be so involved in the youth community.
`I don’t think they get it. I don’t think they get the risks of their actions,` said Kelly.
If a child goes missing, Palazzole said the family should always call 911 first and then call NCMEC corporate offices to get assistance on a national basis. The 24-hour hotline is 1-800-THE-LOST.
“