Palmer & Harvey and Missing People, two organisations committed to serving communities across the UK, are collaborating on a new initiative ‘Delivering Hope’ to raise the profile of missing people across the UK.
From Wednesday 18th May, the UK’s largest delivered wholesaler Palmer & Harvey is partnering with UK charity Missing People, extending the reach of the charity’s efforts to find missing children and adults by displaying appeals on the sides of their vans that make daily deliveries to shops in every UK mainland postcode.
Last year 240,000 people were reported missing in the UK – enough to fill Wembley Stadium three times. All missing people, especially children, are vulnerable to harm. Missing People does incredible work every day to search for and find out more about missing people on behalf of the friends and family left behind.
P&H has the largest wholesale distribution infrastructure in the UK with over 1,000 vehicles making more than 55,000 deliveries every week. The delivered wholesaler initially approached Missing People with the idea on how the space on its fleet of delivery vehicles could be used for a social purpose given its presence in towns, villages and urban centres all over the UK.
P&H will use its regional depots to dispatch vans displaying missing person appeals to raise the visibility of the search for that person when delivering to its customers in that area they were last seen.
Missing People will work with guidance from the police, and with Palmer & Harvey’s regional depots, to ensure the vans go on the roads with the latest missing person posters as new appeals start.
The Agripa advertising van panels that will house the Delivering Hope appeals are easily interchangeable, allowing for the latest missing person campaign posters to be displayed on the van liveries 72 hours after the search starts.
Martyn Ward, Managing Director of P&H, comments: “To our customers what matters is inside the vans. Yet the exterior is effectively a blank canvas that could be used to grab people’s attention and help those in the communities we serve. The Delivering Hope campaign allows us to use our extensive delivery network to help this hugely inspiring cause.
“By using our delivery vans who deliver daily to every postcode in mainland UK to display missing people appeals, we hope to further raise awareness of missing people in their areas they were last seen, and deliver hope to families who are waiting for news about their loved ones. We are delighted to be able to lend our assets to such a vital cause.”
Jo Youle, CEO of Missing People, says: “When someone is missing it is almost always a sign that something is seriously wrong. One of the charity’s key focuses is to appeal to a missing person to let them know that we are here to give them support, as well as asking the public to share vital information. The new Delivering Hope campaign will be instrumental in helping us extend the reach of our publicity appeals and we really hope it will play a role in reuniting missing people with their loved ones.”
Delivering Hope marks the start of a long-term partnership between Palmer & Harvey, its 4,000 employees and Missing People to help ensure that even more can be done to help missing people and their families.
Missing People is the only charity in the UK which is dedicated to bringing the 240,000 children and adults that go missing every year back together with their families. Some missing people you will have heard of, but many more you won’t. For their families, life without them can be a desperate and unbearable struggle. We are there for them 24 hours a day, every day of the year, at the end of a phone, text or email, ready to use every means possible to search for and find their missing loved ones and to provide vital on-going support to families where the agonising wait turns into years, not just days. You can call or text 116 000 for advice, support and options if you, or someone you love, goes missing or runs away – it’s free, 24 hour and confidential.
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