Welcome

We want to welcome the new members to the group. Thanks for joining us in our labor of love.

Newsletter News

We have made some changes in the 4thekids Newsletter. First off we have a new format. So what do you think?

The second thing is that we plan on coming out with a new issue every 2 months. We will send out a case listing every 7 to 10 days, letting you know of the active cases. We will also send out notices when a case is no longer active.

This has been a heck of a summer for both Patty and my families. That on top of every thing working on the business side of 4thekids, the Newsletter just kept getting put off. Hey if anyone wants to become a editor of a Newsletter, we sure welcome them.

Web Page News

NEW DOMAIN NAME
It’s here it’s happening, it’s ours!!!!! http://www.fourthekids.org.  The name has been registered with InterNIC Registration Service We will be using namesecure.com’s URL Gripper. When used in conjunction with Website Forwarding, the URL Gripper gives us control over the address shown in the browser. When a user visits our website, the address shown in the browser can be http://www.fourthekids.org . We still are shopping for a service provider but we are happy with tripod.com for the most part. We will be even happier after we get rid of the popup boxes, which will go bye bye some time in the next few weeks. The reason that some of this is taking so long is our operating budget. Hey what is an operating budget? Till we get the non-profit status from the IRS we are not soliciting funds, so the expenses are coming out of Patty’s pocketbook and my billfold. Can’t speak for Patty but I know my billfold is kind of flat most of the time. >G<

 Till we send out the notice that we are up and ready please keep using https://members.tripod.com/Forthekids .
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HOAX PAGE ADDED
We have also started a new section on the 4thekids page to deal with hoaxes. It is a shame we should have to do this. However several of our members have received cases that were either hoaxes or happily where the child had already been found. Some of these fliers continue to make there rounds on the internet for months after a child has been returned to their families. Especially on ICQ. This is one of the reasons that we have been so careful about checking with parents and law enforcement agencies before we post on our list and on the WebPages.

Remembered Page

With the recent news about one of our cases ending with the sad news that the body of HEATHER NICOLE HENNINGER was found. We thought that we would be adding a page for the cases that end this way. We want a place that family and friends can share some thoughts about the child. Any comments send them to forthekids@comweb.net

4THEKIDS Email List

We are still working on splitting the 4thekids email list into 3 lists. More information on this as we get a better idea about what is what. One list that we will be forming is for parents that have an on going case. It will be a great support group for those having to live the nightmare of a missing child.

New Projects

Web Fliers

First off what is a web flier (WF)? It’s what we are now calling the missing kid posters that we make. When we take on a case we first do an intake. That is where we get all the details of a case ie Name of Child, Description, Case Information, Law Enforcement Contact N.C.I.C. number, After we check with LE, and get permission from the Custodial Parent (CP) to publish the missing child we make the WF. We have been using a couple of formats trying to determine which one works best, we are getting close to making up our minds. We are trying to get it formatted that when we input the details in the intake form, the text part of the WF is complete. We will also use this text data to post a notice to a couple of Newsgroups that deal with missing children. Oh and it is also listed on our Active Case Page. The Active Case page will be redone soon. So that it can be searched by state, description, exc. Need some input from anyone on if they should be displayed by importance, or on a first in last up way.

Some things to note are. We have added a check status link at the bottom of the flier. We did this because a lot of you have been going to the flier and emailing it out. It is a great way for people to promote a missing child WF, but has two drawbacks. One important and one while isn’t that big of deal right now may become important later on. We have no idea where the WF would be sent, so when it is cancelled it would be hard to get the word out. We are trying real hard to set it up so old WF's aren’t floating around the net for years after the child is found. That is why we have added the status click link, that way anyone that receives a WF can click on it and find the status.

Steps To Email A WF

1. Go to the WF that you wish to email to your friends, family, and contacts. Please be careful when sending out a WF. We NEVER  want anyone to feel that they were spammed.
2. Select File on the bar at the top of your browser, then select Send. Then fill in the email addresses. Most people will be able to use their address book by clicking on the To”

The other problem with having people email the WF is that we have no way to track the number of fliers that are being sent. The reason that this is kind of important is we want to see if we can find ways to get to better get the word out. We are also going to try to try to start targeting areas of the country where a child may be located.