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  • Deliveroo brings back its  Bring Them Home campaign on National Missing Persons Day in Ireland
  • At least 100 Deliveroo riders will carry backpacks across Cork and Dublin with the faces and details of missing people during the month of December
  • Deliveroo will make a contribution of €10,000 to National Missing Persons Helpline and enable customers to donate via the app

To mark National Missing Persons Day, Deliveroo has today announced its partnership with the National Missing Persons Helpline, the second consecutive year of this important partnership. The Bring Them Home Campaign aims to help bring missing loved ones back to their friends and families this Christmas. The partnership will feature images of five missing people, whose images will be on Deliveroo rider delivery bags, to raise awareness of these cases. The partnership will run throughout the month of December.

Barry Coughlan, last seen Crosshaven, Cork; Christophe Goutte, last seen in Carrigtwohill, Cork; Colin Turner, last seen on Lower Abbey Street; Gerard Taylor, last seen in Sandyford, Dublin; and Terry Byrne, last seen at his home in Dunboyne, Meath, will all feature in the campaign.

The Bring Them Home campaign in Ireland will see a fleet of at least 100 Deliveroo riders displaying images of missing individuals, along with the helpline number to contact, on their Deliveroo backpacks. The campaign will be rolled out across Dublin and Cork – Ireland’s two most populous cities and the locations with the highest density of missing persons per capita.

If a person goes missing for more than a week, their chances of being found reduce dramatically. For these people every second counts, and so public awareness is vital. Deliveroo is helping to raise awareness of these important cases with the Bring Them Home campaign.

According to the National Missing Persons Helpline, the average number of reports received each year is 8,700, with over 90 people untraced at year end. The National Missing Persons Helpline provides free and confidential support by phone or email 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to anyone affected by a disappearance. The Helpline holds a number of family support events each year, bringing together families of missing people to discuss issues affecting them and thereby providing a system of mutual support.

To support this work Deliveroo is making a contribution of €10,000 to the National Missing Persons Helpline. This will help the organisation to extend its family support service to locations outside of Dublin.

Paddy Quinlan, Growth Manager for Deliveroo Ireland, said:

We are proud to announce our Bring Them Home campaign again this year. This is a vital cause that we are proud to be able to support. We were so impressed by the dedication, professionalism and care shown by the National Missing Persons Helpline to the families of missing loved ones in 2019 that we knew we had to continue supporting their life-changing work.

We would like to thank all of our riders for helping out with this really important awareness-raising campaign and hope that we might be able to help in reuniting loved ones with each other this Christmas.

Dermot Browne of the National Missing Persons helpline said:

This will be a Christmas like no other for everyone in Ireland, and it will be an especially challenging period for families still missing their loved ones. We are grateful that Deliveroo continues to support us in our effort to help reunite families with those they love.

Public awareness-raising is one of the most effective tools we have at our disposal to help bring missing people back to their families, and so we urge everyone in Cork and Dublin to keep an eye out for passing Deliveroo riders.

If anyone has any information on any of the appeals featured in the Bring Them Home campaign, they should contact the National Missing Persons Helpline on 1890 442 552. Alternatively, they can leave a message on our Bring Them Home Line 1800 911 999 – this is a  confidential service and you may remain anonymous if you wish.

Email the National Missing Persons Helpline at [email protected] or call the Garda Confidential line on 1800 666 111. 

Notes:

Deliveroo riders with a food delivery bag showing pictures of Missing Persons as part of the Bring Them Home campaign. The partnership between Deliveroo and the National Missing Persons Helpline will see over 100 Deliveroo riders carrying images of missing people across Dublin and Cork throughout the month of December, to raise awareness for missing loved ones this Christmas. Three of those missing are from Cork: Christophe Goutte who was 53 when on 15 January 2020, last seen leaving work in Carrigtwohill, Colin Turner from Ringnaskiddy was 33 when he disappeared on 14 February 2007, last seen on Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1 and Barry Coughlan, 23 when he disappeared on 1 May 2004, last seen in Crosshaven, Co Cork.

Photo: Peter Houlihan 02/12/2020

About the Missing

  • Barry Coughlan was 23 when he disappeared on 1 May 2004, last seen in Crosshaven, Co Cork.
  • Colin Turner was 33 when he disappeared on 14 February 2007, last seen on Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1.
  • Christophe Goutte was 53 when on 15 January 2020, last seen leaving work in Carrigtwohill, Co. Cork
  • Gerard Taylor was 55 when he disappeared from his home on 25 May 2019, last seen in Sandyford, Dublin.
  • Terry Byrne was 45 when he disappeared from his home on 7 February 2020, in Dunboyne, Co. Meath.

About Deliveroo

  • Deliveroo launched in Ireland in 2015, and currently works with more than 1,100 self-employed riders and more than 1,800 restaurants across Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway.

About the National Missing Persons Helpline

  • The National Missing Persons Helpline is a registered Charity. Their mission as a non-profit organisation is to bring hope to families and friends of Missing Persons by providing information, advice and emotional support.
  • The National Missing Persons Helpline also creates public awareness of Missing Persons though a variety of activities.
  • The National Missing Persons Helpline consists of a team of trained volunteers.
  • The volunteers provide assistance on the emotional issues that affect family members and friends of the missing person. Their assistance helps individuals to find the strength to deal with and adapt to the situation.

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