LANSING, Mich. – Michigan will be participating in the National Missing Children’s Day poster contest.

The Michigan State Police is inviting 5th grade students from around the state to participate in the 2019 National Missing Children’s Day Poster Contest.

National Missing Children's Day takes place annually on May 25th and the contest asks students to create posters in order to promote child safety.

It also allows the Michigan State Police to open a dialog about missing children and exploited children.

MSP said that more than 1,000 children are reported missing each week in Michigan.

The winner of the contest in the state will move on to the national level for judging.

Then, the winner of the national contest will win a free trip to Washington, D.C. and their artwork will be featured as the National Missing Children’s Day poster for the year.

The 2018 winner was a Michigan student from Clinton Township.

MSP released the following rules for the contest:

• Applicants must be in the fifth grade.
• Original artwork should reflect the theme “Bringing Our Missing Children Home” and the phrase must appear somewhere on the poster.
• Digitally produced images, collages, cut-outs, and stamping will not be eligible for consideration.
• The finished poster must measure 8½ x 14 inches.

A completed application which can be found by clicking here and must be sent along with the completed artwork.

Students must also submit a description of the artwork and a biography about themselves.

All submissions are due on Feb. 1, 2019 and must be mailed to:

Michigan State Police

Missing Children’s Clearinghouse

Attn: Ms. Jolene Hardesty

7150 Harris Drive

Dimondale, MI 48821