WILMINGTON, N.C. – Monica Caison, founder of the Community United Effort’s Center for Missing Persons (CUE
Center), is a semi-finalist for the prestigious “Volvo for Life Award,” a national honor bestowed annually to
someone who makes a difference.
In 2004, Mrs. Caison was personally honored as a finalist for the award. She gave her winnings of $25,000 to the CUE
Center so she and the center’s other volunteers could continue to search for missing children and adults.
For the award’s fifth anniversary this year, Volvo reviewed its past finalists and decided to give some of its
deserving honorees another chance to win the company’s highest honor, which includes a $50,000 prize and Volvo vehicles
for life. Mrs. Caison was notified earlier last month that she had been nominated again.
“I was thrilled to receive the news that I had again made it to the semi-finals!” Mrs. Caison said. “I
started the CUE Center to help people in need – I never dreamt that we would get national recognition for it. It is
truly an honor.”
Mrs. Caison’s nomination reads, in part:
Monica’s organization provides a needed resource for those
who have suffered the loss of a loved one. She picks up where law enforcement leaves off and often collaborates with local
law enforcement on cases. She is an advocate for the missing no matter their age, race, sex, and socio-economic background.
The CUE Center utilizes media contacts, does foot searches, and really goes to any length necessary in its effort to locate
a missing person. The CUE Center continues searching long after the community and the media have forgotten about the individual.
Monica
does not get a salary for her involvement with CUE, but it has become her life’s work. She is a fulltime volunteer and
is truly dedicated to her organization and to the search for the missing.
For example, last year Monica organized a cross-country trip to call attention to thirty missing persons cases.
It was a grueling whirlwind trip that drew attention and renewed efforts to resolve 30 cold cases.
Monica helps restore the faith in humanity that family members cannot help but lose with the knowledge that someone,
somewhere, very likely knows what happened to their missing loved one.
