Community Safety Fair Saturday, October 4th

The local Community Wellness Committee and Chillicothe Friendship Lodge #89 are teaming up to offer a Family Safety Fair Saturday, October 4^th at the Grand River YMCA from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Everyone is welcomed to attend this family-friendly event.

The fair will feature interactive booths and displays about various safety topics including distracted driving, electric shock, farm safety, internet safety, firearm safety and more.   Also on hand will be the MoCHIP Child Identification program made possible by the Missouri Masons and brought to our community by our local Masonic Lodge the Chillicothe Friendship Lodge #89.

 With more than 190,000 children processed through the MoCHIP Child ID program in 8 years, MoCHIP is clearly a presence in the community and vows to remain so!

No parent wants to believe that the unimaginable could happen to them, though nearly 2,000 children are reported missing or abducted in the United States each day. The peace of mind MoCHIP provides to Missouri families is invaluable. GIRLS and BOYS ages 11-21 are statistically most susceptible to become missing. Once the child is processed through the program, which generally takes only 15 minutes, the parent is armed with a single pre-printed envelope that instructs authorities in the event of an emergency, something a parent in crisis would undoubtedly have trouble with, and a proactive measure to combat the time sensitivity involved in recovery. Within a matter of minutes the MoCHIP CD can be loaded into a computer directly from a police officer’s automobile and entered into the Amber Alert system.

Deemed “one of the most comprehensive child recovery and identification programs in the nation,” by The National Center for Exploited and Missing Children NCEMC—the Missouri Masonic Child Identification & Protection Program, MoCHIP is solely sponsored by the Masonic Children’s Foundation of the Grand Lodge of Missouri Masons. The program consists of five major components—digital photographs, digital fingerprints, vital child information and emergency contacts, a dental bite impression, and two laminated ID cards. The photographs, fingerprints, and child data are burned onto a mini-CD that is compatible with the AMBER ALERT system already in place. The dental impression provides a virtual diagram of the child’s biting surface, which, like fingerprints is unique to each individual, and further supplies enough saliva to provide a DNA sample that can also be used as scent source for trained canine search teams. Combined, this five-part process provides a dramatic, time-sensitive recovery tool for authorities.

On the day of the MoCHIP event, parents are urged to gather pertinent information about such as, doctor, dentist, and emergency contact and phone numbers, allergies, medications, and parent work, cell, and assorted phone numbers. Information Collection Forms and Permission slips can be downloaded from the www.mochip.org website and filled out ahead of time. Height charts and scales are available at the event to facilitate the most current details regarding the child. As would be expected, security and privacy are of utmost importance. All information and specimens are collected on site, processed and provided to the parent or legal guardian in a yellow envelope. At the end of each event, databases are erased using state-of-the-art software. The only item retained by the Masonic Children’s Foundation is the signed permission slip.

Parents should bring photo ID to claim their child’s packet-security of children is taken very seriously by the MoCHIPS program.  Parents who have participated in MoCHIPS in the past can also bring their existing CD to the event and have it updated.

Adults and children alike are welcomed to the Family Safety Fair. MoCHIP is not just for young children, children 21 and under can and should have this important identification kit created for their safety and the peace of mind of their parents.   Booths and activities are being creating for children and adults alike, with the hopes of making an impression to our community members about the importance of safety in our daily lives. 

Chillicothe Friendship Lodge #89 and the Community Wellness Committee urge you to mark your calendar for this free, fun, interactive family event today!  Saturday, October 4^th 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Grand River YMCA. 

If your organization would like to host a booth, or make a donation of giveaways for kids and adults alike, please contact Eric Turner at 646-6688 or Ann Burchett at 646-5506.