Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor

Paul Crosby, Director of the Marblehead Counseling Center, gives the club an informative presentation on “The Teen Brain”

PARENTS URGED TO PARTICIPATE IN MASONICHIP PROGRAM ON APRIL 10

 Marblehead and Swampscott parents with children aged between 6 and 11 are being encouraged to participate in this year’s Masonichip program which will be held at the Marblehead Community Center on Saturday, April 10, from 10am to 2pm.

The program, which is free, involves providing parents with an identification pack for each child which contains essential identification tools for use in the event that a child is missing or abducted.

“We know that the number of missing and abducted children is on the rise, both in the US and worldwide, said David Keiser, Junior Warden of the Philanthropic Lodge of Freemasons, “however the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children claims that Masonichip is one of the most comprehensive child recovery and identification programs available”.

The event involves parents signing a permission form for their child to participate and then going through a number of different stages where identification items, such as photographs, fingerprints and dental impressions are generated.  These are placed in a sealed bag and given to each child’s parents or guardian together with a safety education leaflet.

This year’s event is being organized by the Philanthropic Lodge of Freemasons, with support from the Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor.  Further information about the Masonichip program can be obtained from David Keiser of the Masons on 781 639 9729 or Dan Hawthorne, Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor on 781 648 6570.  Information can also be found on the website: http://www.masonichip.org/ and http://www.mychip.org

All items and information generated are the property of and are given to the individual child's parent or guardian who accompanied them through the event) to take home for safe keeping. The only information retained by the organizers is the signed permission form. Parents are responsible for keeping the pack in a safe place and sharing it with law enforcement officials should the child go missing.  Parents are also encouraged to take the packs on trips and vacations.  Statistics show that parents who go through the process with their children also tend to be more vigilant and better prepared to avoid abduction and exploitation situations.

Past District Governor and current Rotary Foundation District Chairperson Julia Phelps gives members an update on Rotary matters at their new breakfast venue, The Boston Yacht Club

Andrew Oliver, chairman of the board of Lifebridge, which was formerly the Salem Mission, talks to RCoMH members about their ambitious plans to provide men and women the opportunities they need to end their homelessness.

Last weekend our fourteenth annual Walter Murray Rotary Youth Leadership Institute was held at the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem.  The institute, named after it's founder Reverend Walter Murray, was attended by 68  high school students from 10 schools from Lynn, Salem, Swampscott and Marblehead. 
 
The day's activities focus on communication skills, self motivation, leadership skills, and working together on a group project. This year's students were enthusiastic, attentive and very involved for the entire day.
 
Pictured:  Dr. Tom Harvey from the Marblehead Harbor Rotary Club presenting
 
Students studying Gene Nigrelli's "Lego Man"  to help their group correctly duplicate it- and win!
 
Another group meeting to discuss the afternoon problem, with help from Salem Rotarian Mary Ann Lyons.

Noah and Gabrielle Kenney, 5th and 2nd graders at The Phoenix School in Salem, and members of the Phoenix Early Act Club present John Williams with a check for $1000 for ShelterBox raised by the children in their Club through their various fundraising activities.  

Marblehead Harbor Club Rotarians joined with members from Danvers, Marblehead and Lynn Rotary clubs
to staff a ShelterBox display at the Northshore and Liberty Tree malls.
Shown at Northshore are left to right Donald Doliber, David Rafus, Linda Doliber, and Ed Bell.
The two weekend effort raised more than $1000 for Haitian relief.

Al Mundo, chairman of the board and president of the Massachusetts Air & Space Museum,
tells the club about plans for the museum, due to open in 2014.  
Further information can be found at www.massairspace.org