Manitouwadge First Northshore Community to Welcome MasoniChIP
Manitouwadge First Northshore Community to Welcome MasoniChIP
by Karina Hunter
Published in Chronicle Journal, Page A7, Friday, April 24, 2009
This weekend, the Algoma District Masonic Association with the help of the Township of Manitouwadge and Manitouwadge’s Family Place/Best Start Hub and Volunteer Fire Department, conducted their MasoniChIP Identification Program at the Manitouwadge Recreation Centre, making the community the first on the Northshore to host the program since its official launching in Thunder Bay, January 24th of this year.
Saturday, parents and caregivers of 122 children and 12 seniors received printed EZ Child ID forms, a CD containing their loved ones personal information, digital fingerprints, digital photographs and a short audio/video interview as well as dental impressions and a DNA Swab.
The kits are provided to families free of charge so the Masons were grateful for the funds donated (approx. $350.00) by those who visited the Manitouwadge ID Clinic as these funds go directly towards the purchase or maintenance of ID Machines & Kits and are integral in continuing to bring the service to our communities.
Volunteer Kelly Sagle guides youth volunteer Brooke through an audio/video interview.
Friday evening, volunteers were welcomed by Program Coordinator, Patrick Curran who briefed them on the key points of the program before they began their training on the ID Machines. All volunteers underwent a criminal record background check, generously provided free of charge by the Ontario Provincial Police, before becoming involved in the program. Curran re-iterated numerous times during the training that “security and privacy are of the utmost importance”, reminding volunteers that “The (Ontario) Masons keep nothing on file, with the exception of the permission form signed by the parent/guardian, prior to participation in the event.” The trainees were even provided with specific instruction regarding the disposal of any erroneous cd’s or forms; these would be torn (or snapped in the case of a CD) in half and given to the parents to dispose of at home.
Communities wanting to hold there own MasoniChIP Identification Program can visit http://www.algomadistrict.ca/ for information.
Volunteers in Manitouwadge are trained for the MasoniChIP Identification Program.
According to statistics released by Canada’s “Our Missing Children” site and Ontario Child Find, nearly 20,000 children are reported missing every year in Ontario. The key to recovering these children is quick action by parents and law enforcement and these MasoniChIP Identification kits are an integral part of that. So why is Manitouwadge the first community to have this vital service made available to its residents? Curran credited Karen Robinson, Economic Development Assistant for the Township of Manitouwadge, as being the contact who, after many weeks of diligence rallying volunteers and coordinating the efforts of all parties involved, made it possible for the Masons to offer their services to the community and says “we (Algoma District Masons) hope that the other Northshore communities will follow Manitouwadge’s lead.” When asked why she had been so adamant in wanting to bring the service to Manitouwadge, Robinson said “This program helps protect those people who our community holds most dear, our children and seniors and I believe the peace of mind that accompanies it benefits everyone, therefore improving the quality of life in Manitouwadge.”
Together, Norhtern Ontario communities are taking small steps that will help ensure the missing children cases in Northern Ontario, can have happy endings. If you would like to be a part of those happy endings, give to the MasoniChIP Identification Program, they are registered as a charitable organization and your donations are tax deductible. Checks should be made payable to MASONICH.I.P Ontario Thunder Bay and sent to Patrick Curran, Committee Member; 133 Elgan Place; Thunder Bay, ON; P7A2Y. To receive a tax receipt write “Project #2552” in the memo section of your cheque and include your return address.
