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Saginaw Masons provide free Child ID Kits

Saginaw Masons provide free Child ID Kits
(Courtesy Photo) (Left to right) Rev. George Derado, West Michigan Ave. Methodist Church, John Buckley, Fernando Garcia, Worshipful Master, Saginaw Lodge #77, John Banning, were volunteers at the Saginaw Masons booth, providing free Child Id kits.

 

This will be the third year the Saginaw Masons have provided free Child Id kits to the community. The Masons sponsored a booth at the Home and Garden show held at SVSU’s Ryder Center on March 19th and 20th, registering over 100 kids this year.

The Id kit includes all basic information (height, weight, eye color, etc.), along with a DNA sample (from a non-intrusive oral cotton swab), dental imprints, electronic fingerprinting, pictures, and a short video taken to capture voice recognition and mannerisms necessary to assist law enforcement in the event of a missing child. Absolutely no information is kept by them, as it is burned to a DVD and given to the parent, along with the rest of the kit.

Volunteers at this year’s event included Rev. George Derado, West Michigan Ave. Methodist Church, who gave two sermons that day after working multiple shifts, John Buckley, who ran a 5k for charity that morning and worked on Sunday, Fernando Garcia, Worshipful Master, Saginaw Lodge #77, who had just completed a fundraiser for the Hispanic Association, and John Banning, who despite back and leg injuries from his service in the Airborne, still made the time to come out and help. The commitment of these volunteers demonstrates what a great membership the Masons have, and how much the Child Id program means to them.

The Michigan Child Identification Program is a lodge-based community action initiative sponsored, scheduled and organized by the Michigan Masons through the Grand Lodge of Michigan.

At a Michigan Child ID Event, the Masons set up the equipment and enlist the volunteers necessary to generate individual completed child identification packages that are given to a child’s parent or guardian to take home for safe keeping (they keep nothing but a permission form).

It is the responsibility of the parents to then provide the package to law enforcement, if their child becomes missing, as an aid to recover their child.

Each child progresses through the several stations of the event (it takes about 10-15 minutes) generating an identifying item at each station and placing them in his or her package.

A completed Child Identification Packet consists of a dental impression kit that will also provide DNA and dog scenting along with a CD containing the identified person’s vital information. The CD information also includes digital fingerprints, a still picture and a short video interview to capture the voice and mannerisms of the identified person.

Parents are reminded to take the package with them on trips and vacations (it does no good leaving it at home) as it can be immediately provided to authorities to aid in the recovery of a child that is missing or presumed abducted. Parents are also reminded to make additional copies of the information to provide to family members or others who may care for the child away from home. They also encourage families to repeat the program every two years, especially for younger children whose facial features or dental features may be changing as they grow.

For further information (including three years of data), visit the Michigan Child Identification Program website: www.michiganchildid.org. 

 

 

 

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