"Hope Initiative Campaign" ~ Will YOU Help?

It is with great joy I share this Hope Initiative Campaign with you today. So you aren’t confused, this Heidi Search Center (HSC) is not our Heidi, Heidi M Allen. Instead this center came to be after the disappearance of Heidi Seeman, in Texas. Although we remember and cherish two different Heidi’s, our connection to each other is a deeper.

My sister, Heidi M Allen, abducted while working alone at the D &W Convenience Store in New Haven, New York on Easter Sunday, April 3, 1994, caught national attention. One of the reasons was the HSC  (of Texas)’s involvement with our Heidi’s case. A few days into the search and rescue efforts, my aunt and uncle found this center through an Internet search. Mind you, the Internet was only a year or so into being part of the household, so I think it’s such a God-thing we are connected.

Here is a snip-it from my book,
Where’s Heidi? One Sister’s Journey about the Heidi Search Center’s involvement in my sister’s case: (A portion of this chapter - to read the whole story, click on the photo below)

Expertise with a Texan Twist
…The Heidi Search Center, established after eleven-year-old Heidi Seeman was kidnapped while walking home from her friend’s house on August 4, 1990. Heidi Seeman was their first case. Heidi Allen would be their forty-second case, and only the third from outside the state of Texas. The only cost to the family was for his travel, housing, and food expenses…

It had only been four days – four days that felt like an eternity. Rick arrived on April 7. He came in with an expertise and gift for administration and delegation. He was able to make decisions too difficult for family members to deal with and he worked with the Sheriff’s investigators, FBI, and the hundreds of volunteers simultaneously.

Rick complimented the organization and search efforts developed prior to his arrival. He was impressed with the number of contacts and flyers already circulating. 

I marveled at this man strolling through the door with his Texan hat and cowboy boots. Tall, thin, and tanned, he walked with an air of confidence… 

As I watched him work the room and finalize the transformation of the “Heidi Allen Command Center”, I was suddenly exhausted. I needed a nap. I needed to sleep. Rick, determined and resourceful, provided a renewed hope and energy to the search. He came in, recognized the areas of weakness, and made the necessary changes without worrying about hurt feelings. He didn’t come to New York to make friends. He had one goal and purpose: to find Heidi.

---

Prior to the release of Where’s Heidi? One Sister’s Journey, I spoke with Heidi’s Seeman’s mom. An amazing, strong, and sweet woman to share my book and the portions of the book about the blessing her center and Rick were to our family. This summer I spoke with Crystal, who works at the HSC. Crystal shared about their initiative to raise funds so the center can continue to help families. The coolest part, Crystal didn’t know the connection to my family or my sister’s case until she spoke with the new director and the team working there. Another instance of God putting all the pieces together.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
And I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
For I am gentle and humble in heart,
And you will find rest for your souls.”
Matthew 11:28 – 29

A note from the Heidi Search Center
SanAntonio, Texas - in memory of Heidi Seeman

We need your help to kick off our end of the year fundraiser with our “HOPE INITIATIVE CAMPAIGN.” This campaign will run from August 25, 2013 until December 7, 2013.

We will kick the campaign off in memory of Heidi and Erica along with the countless other children and adults we have assisted in the past by, giving HOPE back to their families. We would like to extend the same HOPE to other families that were extended to both the Seeman and Botello family over 23 years ago, by continuing their legacy.

Our goal is to raise $35,000 in memory of Heidi’s 35th birthday this year. This is where you can help us. We need everyone to send in any amount of money with 35 in it (for example $3.50, $35, $350, $3500, etc.) or any amount large or small to help the Heidi Search Center continue our mission.

The HSC assists families, communities, and law enforcement agencies in the recovery of missing children and adults at-risk by advocating community awareness, facilitating search and location efforts and offering assistance and referrals to those with missing loved ones nationwide. We also provide community educational programs to effectively protect and safeguard children from abduction or exploitation.

Here’s how you can help. Go to our web-page www.heidisearchcenter.com and click on our PayPal account, mail in a check or money order, or come into our center and bring cash. It is that SIMPLE! You can also go to our Facebook page and like us. We will place weekly updates of all monies raised and let you know how close we are to our goal of $35,000. We encourage EVERYONE to share our Facebook page with family and friends all over the world, and reproduce the letter and send it out to help us get the word out.

Your support will help give HOPE back to those family members that still have a loved one missing and the new cases that enter our doors every day.

Our goal is to continue providing our services FREE OF CHARGE and to give HOPE during and after what many times seems like a hopeless situation.

Again, we appreciate all your help in reaching our goal of $35,000 by December 7, 2013, in time for our Tree of Hope Ceremony.

We want to show those that we serve that their loved ones are not forgotten and give them a glimpse of HOPE expressing how much we really care.

Betsy James Cooper
Executive Director

---

Donate by Check:
We are a registered 501c(3) Non-Profit.
Heidi Search Center
4115 Naco Perrin Blvd
San Antonio, Texas 78217 


Donate Online:
You can donate by using your credit card, PayPal or checking account by clicking the "Please donate" photo above or clicking on the above photos for a link to the Heidi Search Center's website.

The Heidi Search Center is well known in San Antonio, but our community has no idea of the invaluable services we provide on a daily basis. Thousands of hours are dedicated not only to locate missing children and adults at risk, but to provide the San Antonio community and surrounding areas with invaluable educational materials, advice, identification kits, and support for families, schools, churches, and civic organizations. The center is a non-profit 501c (3) organization and is always in need of donations from caring individuals such as yourself.

Currently we have no corporate sponsors, but are seeking financial assistance from generous individuals and companies. By becoming a corporate sponsor, your name or company’s information will be printed and included on all educational materials and information distributed to children and their families. And you will be listed here on our website.

All moneys donated are used in the daily operations for supplies, printing material, and ground search support that the Heidi Search Center provides to communities here in the San Antonio and surrounding areas. Memorial donations are also accepted and encouraged from individuals and their families. We accept monetary donations, as well as, donations of vehicles, boats, airplanes, etc.. 

---

Thank you!

To "like" the Heidi Search Center's Facebook page and receive updates: click on the photo of the balloons to the left.

For more information about the HSC or the "Hope Initiative Campaign": Click on the photos of Heidi Seeman and Erica Marie Botello above.

To make a monetary donation to this campaign: click on the "Donate please" photo below or visit their website for a direct link.

To say a prayer for the missing, their families, this center, and others similar to them: pause and lift a prayer right where you are. Prayer is powerful and you never know when your prayer is the one God answers to bring a missing child home or prevent a child from being kidnapped.

It truly is a joy to introduce the Heidi Search Center of Texas to you again.
I hope you will help support their cause.
There are links to their website to make a donation
and learn more about the HSC in Texas.

To partner with an organization dedicated to educating and saving our children is a worthy cause. The fact they sent someone to help organize the search for my sister, our Heidi, Heidi M. Allen ~ the icing on the cake of a great initiative. Thank you in advance!

Please share this with your friends, family, businesses, employers, and your connections via social media. You never know...