Ontario Masons’ Child Identification Program Celebrates 4th Anniversary!

Over 42,000 child ID kits have been provided free of charge to families in Ontario!  Even though it is our hope that no parent should ever need to use their kit, Masons remain committed to providing this comprehensive program “just in case”.

 No parent wants to believe that the unimaginable could happen to them, though nearly 55 children are reported missing to Police in Ontario every day (164 every day in Canada).  According to Canada’s “Our Missing Children” network and “Ontario Child Find”, a current good quality photo is the single most effective tool in locating a missing child.  Parents are encouraged to be prepared by having a MasoniCh.I.P Ontario (Ontario Masons’ Child Identification Program) – deemed “one of the most comprehensive child recovery and identification programs in the nation” by The National Center for Exploited and Missing Children--- kit done free of charge.

Sponsored by the Grand Lodge A. F. & A. M. of Canada in the Province of Ontario, the MasoniCh.I.P program consists of five major components – digital photographs; digital video; digital fingerprints; vital child information; and a dental bite impression or Intra Oral Swab for DNA.  The photographs, video, fingerprints, and child description are burned onto a C.D. that is compatible with Amber Alert.  The dental impression provides a virtual diagram of the child’s biting surface, which, like fingerprints, are unique to each individual, and further supplies saliva to provide a DNA sample.  Combined, this five part process provides a dramatic, time-sensitive recovery tool for authorities.

Parents are urged to take the 10 to 15 minutes to have this very important kit prepared.  Security and privacy are of utmost importance.  All information are collected on site, processed, and provided to the parent or guardian in an envelope—along with the sentiment of all the Masonic volunteers – “We hope you never need to use it.”  After each child is processed, the data is deleted from our state-of-the-art software.  The only item retained by MasoniCh.I.P Ontario is the signed permission slip.

For further information on MasoniCh.I.P Ontario or future MasoniCh.I.P events, please check our website: www.masonichip.ca regularly for scheduled clinics in your area, or contact a Mason in your community.

Ray Dobbs
Program Director
MasoniCh.I.P Ontario
P.O. Box 1582
Woodstock, On. N4S0A7