Deliveroo riders to display missing person posters on backpacks

Deliveroo riders in four cities are to display missing person posters on their backpacks as part of a campaign to find them in time for Christmas.

Five hundred of the food delivery app’s riders in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol will display posters on the bags used to carry food as part of a campaign with charity Missing People.

The Deliveroo app will also introduce a fundraising feature called Ride to Find, which will give customers the opportunity to donate to the charity via the app.

The company’s chief executive Will Shu said: “The work that the Missing People charity does is life changing for these families and when we had the opportunity to meet with them, we wanted to help.

“Our riders are at the heart of our business and are seen by communities up and down the country as they travel our streets to deliver food, so it’s amazing that our network of riders have volunteered to use our recognisable backpacks to create mobile billboards in support of such an important cause.

“We hope that over the holidays, our Ride to Find campaign will help bring missing people home to their friends and family as well as raise awareness and funds for the Missing People charity.”

Deliveroo said it would also be encouraging its more than 15,000 riders to sign up to Missing People’s Child Rescue alerts, which send out notifications when a child goes missing in their area and is considered to be at very high risk of coming to harm.

Jo Youle, Missing People’s chief executive said: “We are thrilled to partner with Deliveroo who are supporting Missing People with the forward-thinking and innovative Ride to Find campaign.

“Deliveroo will help us to reunite missing people with their families this December and will be able reach people and places Missing People cannot reach.  Deliveroo will raise awareness with appeals for missing people on rider’s bags.

“The money raised by Deliveroo and their customers will help us to continue to search across the UK for missing people and support the estimated 1 million people who are affected by a loved one’s disappearance.”