CHP Volunteers Team Up with MYCHIP

The Masonic Youth Child Identification Program (MYCHIP) helps families prepare for the frightening possibility of a missing child by collecting unique identifying information from children that can be vital to a child’s return. The Masons of Massachusetts partner with the Massachusetts Crime Prevention Officers Association and the Massachusetts Dental Society to offer this free program. The program establishes identity records for families by collecting brief video interviews, fingerprints, toothprints, and DNA from cheek swabs from children in the community. Since its inception in 1988, MYCHIP has identified more than 275,000 children and continues to assist families today.

Led by the Division of Community Health Programs (CHP), a team of two GSDM faculty sponsors and three GSDM students worked as volunteers for a MYCHIP event at the 26th Annual Charles C. Yancey Book Fair on Saturday, July 7, 2012. The faculty sponsors for the event were Drs. Ana Keohane and Gladys Carrasco. The Book Fair took place at the Reggie Lewis Sports Complex on Tremont Street in Boston.

The GSDM student and faculty volunteers assisted in the MYCHIP effort by taking toothprints and cheek swabs. Like fingerprints and DNA, the tooth bite prints are unique to every individual. The volunteers carefully took toothprints from the children and gently swiped the children’s cheeks with cotton swabs to collect their DNA material. Overall, the event was a great success and made a substantial contribution to the community.

Thank you to the student volunteers: Jenny Lorenzo DMD 13, Venkata Siva Prasad Bandi AS 13, and Lindy Su DMD 13.

Photos of the event are available on facebook and flickr.