Forsyth Sheriff Wants Parents To 'Take 25' For Child Safety

The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office will take part in the nationwide Take 25 child safety campaign.

The agency will hold two child safety events commemorating National Missing Children's Day.

The events will be held 9 a.m. to noon Saturday May 4 at Central Park in Cumming and at 9 a.m to noon Saturday May 25 at Johns Creek Baptist Church on McGinnis Ferry Road in the southern part of the county.

Each event will feature so-called "stranger danger" classes, Internet safety classes for parent, the opportunity for residents to meet sheriff's deputies and K-9s and see police equipment and vehicles. 

“The goal of Take 25 is to encourage parents to talk to their children about ways to stay safe,” said Forsyth County Sheriff Duane K. Piper. “This event gives families a fun day while offering the resources and talking points parents might need to start a conversation about safety.”

Take 25 is a nationwide child safety public awareness campaign that was created by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 2007.

The campaign, which starts on May 1 and continues through May 25, encourages parents to talk with their children for 25 minutes about safety and methods to prevent child abduction. 

May 25 has been observed as National Missing Children’s Day since it was first recognized in 1983.

Each year, roughly 800,000 children are reported missing and of that number, it's believed that 200,000 are abducted by family members and approximately 58,000 are abducted by non-family members.

Also, it's believed that each year, 115 children are the victims of the most serious abductions; they are taken by non-family members and either murdered, ransomed or taken with the intent to keep.

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