WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Postal Service continues its tradition of drawing attention to important social causes by issuing the AMBER Alert stamp to honor a program dedicated to the rapid recovery of abducted children. This stamp dedication ceremony was hosted by Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney General of the United States, at the Department of Justice's National Missing Children's Day Awards presentations in Washington, DC. A separate ceremony took place in Arlington, TX, the hometown of nine-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped in 1996. AMBER is an acronym for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response.

"We're pleased that with our stamp program we have another opportunity to raise awareness of critical issues. If this stamp can help inform even one citizen of the AMBER Alert program, it can make a difference in the safety of a child," said John E. Potter, Postmaster General of the U.S. Postal Service and dedicating official.

Joining Potter and Gonzales at the Washington, DC, event were Regina B. Schofield, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs, and National AMBER Alert Coordinator, U.S. Department of Justice; Ernie Allen, President, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children; Steve Largent, President and CEO of CTIA-The Wireless Association, former U.S. Congressman and Seattle Seahawk football player and member, NFL Hall of Fame; and John Bish, father of Molly Bish, an abducted and murdered child.

"Every time Americans see the new AMBER Alert stamp, they will be reminded of the important role they play, as citizens, to work with law enforcement and broadcasters to help recover abducted children and return them to their families," said Schofield.

At the Arlington, TX, dedication ceremony Susan Plonkey, Vice President, Customer Service, U.S. Postal Service was the dedicating official. Joining her were J. Robert Flores, Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Department of Justice; Dr. Robert Cluck, Mayor of Arlington, TX; Dee Anderson, Sheriff, Tarrant County; and, Donna Norris, mother of Amber Hagerman.

"I often wonder how it would have been to see Amber graduate. She wasn't just my little girl, she was my dream and there is so much that has been taken from us. It's something you never get over," said Amber's mother, Donna Norris. "I think the Amber Alert System and the issuance of the AMBER Alert stamp would have made Amber proud. It's like she's a guardian angel looking over children, making sure they get home safe. Every time a child comes home," Norris says, "baby girl, you did it again."

The AMBER Alert program originated in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, area in 1996 after the kidnapping and murder of Amber Hagerman. Other states and communities soon began adopting similar plans, and by 2005 a national alert system coordinated by the U.S. Department of Justice extended across all 50 states.

AMBER alerts, which have helped in the recovery of more than 265 children, can mobilize the community during the first critical hours following a kidnapping and provide police with a wide network of eyes and ears to assist in the search.

The stamp is illustrated with a chalk pastel drawing by artist Vivienne Flesher and shows a reunited mother and child entwined in each other's arms. The type on each stamp and text across the header of the stamp pane reads "AMBER ALERT saves missing children." These 39-cent stamps will be available nationwide today.

Current U.S. stamps, as well as a free comprehensive catalog, are available by toll-free phone order at 1-800-STAMP-24. A wide selection of stamps, other philatelic items, and licensed products are available at the Postal Store at www.usps.com/shop. Beautifully framed prints of original stamp art for delivery straight to the home or office are available at www.postalartgallery.com.


Since 1775, the United States Postal Service and its predecessor, the Post Office Department, have connected friends, families, neighbors and businesses by mail. An independent federal agency that visits more than 144 million homes and businesses every day, the Postal Service is the only service provider delivering to every address in the nation. It receives no taxpayer dollars for routine operations, but derives its operating revenues solely from the sale of postage, products and services. With annual revenues of $70 billion, it is the world's leading provider of mailing and delivery services, offering some of the most affordable postage rates in the world. The U.S. Postal Service delivers more than 46 percent of the world's mail volume-some 212 billion letters, advertisements, periodicals and packages a year-and serves seven million customers each day at its 37,000 retail locations nationwide.