In a world where stories of missing persons often fade with time, Whitney Sich’s relentless dedication to advocacy has brought hope and action to countless families. As the founder of “A Voice for the Voiceless,”
Sich’s journey was born from a desire to help others. Her work started with a single act of sharing a missing child’s flyer online, which later evolved into a full-fledged mission to bridge the gap between law enforcement and the public. With a deep commitment to serving families and an unwavering belief that everyone has a role to play, Sich’s work gives a voice to those who may find it difficult to speak for themselves.
What brought you into the non-profit field, and what drew you specifically to focus on missing persons cases?
I’ve always been a helper, I’ve always worked with people, and I’ve always done something where the goal was to serve the community – Meals on Wheels, working at animal shelters, things like that.
During the COVID period, I heard about a situation where a toddler was found wandering the streets of South Florida. I have a mom-group on Facebook/Meta, and I thought, “Oh my gosh. Whose child is this?” — and although I couldn’t really do much physically, I started circulating his flyer.
And there was a multiplier effect, where one person saw it, and then it was continuously shared until it found its way to someone that could identify the child. Long story short, the child belonged to a woman. Unfortunately, she had likely been murdered, but not located. The flyer of the child found its way all the way to Georgia, to the family of the missing woman.
That kind of made me feel like we were making a difference, or that I had made a difference in that situation. And then through COVID, I realized how much awareness mattered, how many people are missing.
Once I started sharing that flyer outside of the mom-group on Facebook, we started another Facebook group to try and find the mother. Other families started reaching out to me, asking if I might be able to help them, and it just became a kind of domino effect.
I started taking some advocacy courses through NCMEC (the National Center Missing Exploited Children), just learning about advocacy, things like that.
So that’s basically how it started, just through realizing the importance of awareness. And while it started online, it later included offline endeavors as well, there were civilian searches and things like that.
What keeps you going? How do you handle it?
It’s hard to find balance, but you have to try because the grief can be overwhelming. When you’re working with families, they become your family. You get to know the missing person through them, and that connection keeps you going. You start wanting what they need: What more can we do? How is everyone holding up? How else can we help?
The police do what they can within their means, but if there are no tips, they can’t keep searching indefinitely—they must rely on new information and evidence. That’s where A Voice for the Voiceless steps in.
If law enforcement calls for the public’s assistance, we provide it by designing and sharing flyers, holding candlelight vigils, organizing searches, and raising awareness. What motivates us is knowing we can bridge the gap. Awareness Matters. We collaborate with families who are already working with law enforcement, and we only take on cases with an official police report.
How did your background support your work with a Voice for the Voiceless, or more generally in starting a non-profit organization?
Working with people has always been something I’ve loved and valued deeply. I’ve always enjoyed working with and empowering others. I spent many years in real estate, eventually becoming the Director of Sales at my firm. Then, while I was a stay-at-home mom, I began noticing missing person cases around me and felt compelled to do something.
I believe anyone can make a difference. When we work with volunteers, we often see that everyone has a unique strength—everyone has a “superpower.” Even if you’re confined to your home, there’s always something you can do to make a positive impact. I truly believe that: everyone has a superpower, everyone has a purpose, and each person brings something special to the world.
Are there any changes you would like to see in the world of non-profits, and, specifically in the world of missing persons?
I wish there were a better way to vet people in this line of work. It’s becoming saturated because you have a lot of people calling themselves “advocates” and saying that they’re bringing awareness or are working with law enforcement, yet they don’t have any background in advocacy. There are actual credentials that you can go and get, a lot of my advocates have these credentials. But there are a lot of grifters out there.
We try to guide the families we work with. We try to give them warnings about who to trust or who not to. The families’ situations are sacred to an extent. I wish more people would acquire credentials and training in this type of work, and I wish more people were honest and empathetic.
What advice would you give to individuals aspiring to work or help with missing people and not-for-profit organizations?
I think it’s important to research the area you would like to become involved with – missing people or trafficking. There are tons of free resources if you want to learn about searching. There’s FEMA, and there are free courses through them, and you can see if you might have an interest in search and rescue. There is also NCMEC, which has free resources for credentialing for advocacy. There are all sorts of free resources to just get started and decide where your heart really is, because you might start reading and think: “Oh, I don’t actually feel comfortable with this…”
So I would say, start where you are and use what is available. You will find your path.
Are there any cases that you feel impacted you significantly, apart from the one that inspired the creation of A Voice for the Voiceless?
There is one case that always sticks with me.
There was a boy with autism who went missing. His name was Kyrin Carter, and he was from Indiana. Tragically, he was found at the bottom of a river. But it was interesting, because we worked with the police on that case. The police searched, they drained the river, and they were encouraging the public to assist in searching. There was one man in a kayak with sonar that just insisted he knew. He was convinced he knew, and he just kept searching for days and days. And we all followed our gut instinct with him. The long story short, we just continuously supported him. Eventually, he found the boy’s body. If not for this man, the boy may have never been found.
I really believe that everyone has a superpower, everyone can make a difference. And tomorrow’s a new day to do the right thing, a new day to find your purpose.