This is an amazing, interesting story that I know you will love.
There is a teenage girl from Cleveland named Amanda Berry, who has been missing for over a year. One day, I received an email from AMANDA BERRY! The subject line was also Amanda Berry. I was almost afraid to read it because I was concerned it might either be a hoax or that the missing girl was emailing me for some reason. I opened it and it said: Can I adopt Amanda Berry on your Adopt a Missing Person program? I wrote back and explained that Amanda was not on the program and how families can place their missing loved one on the program. I asked her how she found, us, and if she knew the missing girls family.
Her name was also Amanda Berry. She wrote back and said she had found us and the Adopt program on the Internet. She also told me a most interesting tale about how one day she decided to type her name into the Google search engine just to see what she would find. She found the missing Amanda Berry from Cleveland. From that day forward, the other Amanda never left her thoughts. She wished she would hear more about her and that she had been found. She did not know the family at all. She was just a woman who cared, miles from the family in Cleveland who wanted so desperately to see their Amanda again.
I found this to be such an interesting and profound story, and I knew I had to do something about it. I asked Amanda if she was ok with me pursuing this with media who had done stories about the other Amanda. She was very open for me to do that. I told her that I intended to take it all the way; that it was too good of a story to pass up, and that the missing Amanda Berry and her family deserved an infusion of hope, knowing that someone cared. If we could get it on the airwaves, we could help this family. I think that neither one of us thought it would go anywhere. We were wrong.
The second media outlet I emailed the story to wrote back, and they were very interested. It took us a few days to make all the necessary arrangements, and then today we both went and filmed news segments in our respective cities. In the meantime, the families were writing their segments to include their daughters on the Adopt a Missing Person program. (Missing 14 year-old Georgina DeJesus from Cleveland was also included in the story, as we wanted to help both families.) Both girls will be on the Adopt a Missing Person site soon, and we have buttons ready to go.
Here is the link for the news story, plus a video you can watch online. Do watch the video as it features reactions from the family, too. They are so grateful that a stranger would come forward and help them as Amanda Berry did. I applaud Amanda and thank her for having the courage to do this.
This story is an excellent example of the fact that there is more good to found in the world than bad. The next time we are presented with an opportunity to do good, run with it, as you never know what might happen next. Amanda did, and look what came of it. I look forward to receiving Amandas adoption request for Amanda in the mail and hopefully many, many more.
http://
www.wkyc.com/news/news_fullstory.asp?id=21980
Adopt a Missing Person:
http://www.projectjason.org/adopt.html
With Hope,
Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
www.projectjason.org