On Saturday, April 13, Hampshire Mall is set to host a free MYCHIP (Masonic Youth Child Identification Program) event in coordination with the Masons of Massachusetts from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Café Square.
The program provides tools to help law enforcement authorities find and identify a lost or missing child. Each child’s family will be given a USB stick containing the following:
IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION: Physical characteristics, identifying marks or features and parent contact information.
VIDEO: A brief video interview can be quickly distributed to the media in order to reach a huge audience.
FINGERPRINTING: Fingerprinting is a well-known means of identification. Resourceful parents keep fingerprints available should the need arise.
None of the information is copied and all the identifying materials are given to the child’s family.
The Masons of Massachusetts, partnering with the Massachusetts Crime Prevention Officers Association, donate MYCHIP resources to make this service available to the public. No information is kept by MYCHIP, ever.
MYCHIP has identified more than 300,000 children since its inception in 1988, and it continues to assist families today.
In addition to this safety event, Hampshire Mall will also be hosting the Better Together Dog Rescue mobile pet food pantry on Saturday, April 13 from 11:00am-1:00pm in the parking lot near Cinemark and Arizona Pizza Company. Their mobile pantry provides pet food and supplies to community members in need in Western Massachusetts, for all household pets.
