June 5, 2007
Vancouver, B.C.: The recent Salmonberry Fair held May 27th not only afforded children the chance to play with trains, gather balloons and discover loot bag-surprises at Dunbar Memorial Parent Participation Preschool’s (DMPPP) tent, it also provided their parents the opportunity to join the Vancouver Police Department’s (VPD) Child Find program. With the promotional help and teamwork of volunteers from DMPPP, a parent-participation preschool with nearly 50 years of experience in educating preschoolers, the VPD successfully registered a significant number of children in Child Find, a program designed to help keep kids safe.
Launched to help police agencies track missing children, Child Find offers parents the opportunity to record vital personal information into a booklet for safekeeping. Each child's fingerprints are taken and his/her physical characteristics are recorded in a booklet similar to a passport. To ensure every child’s privacy, each family retains the booklet. In the unlikely event that a child goes missing, the booklet will assist police in efficiently tracking down the missing child.
Under the theme “Play it Safe with Child Find”, a team of DMPPP parent volunteers assisted the VPD in helping more than 50 families register their children in the Child Find program, which was an “amazing” result according to Tony Bulic, a coordinator with the Kerrisdale Oakridge Marpole Community Policing Centre.
“Registering that many families at a community fair in just four hours is far more than we ever anticipated,” said Bulic. “We were very impressed with the professionalism and enthusiasm of DMPPP’s volunteers and we hope to work together again to provide this great program to communities. We hope no family ever has to refer to their Child Find booklet but in the rare instance they need it, this booklet will provide the police with the immediate vital information they need to begin a search, which will help to alleviate the family’s distress.”
Equally encouraged by the results, DMPPP plans to encourage more families to “play it safe” and work with the VPD to continue to grow the program.
“Children’s safety is not only one of the core tenet’s of our preschool, it extends to our community at large,” said Mary Jo Wagner, DMPPP’s marketing chair. “We felt the Child Find program spoke directly to that priority for own preschool children and it also afforded us the opportunity to extend that to our community. We thank everyone who took the time to register and hope to see more families do the same in the future.”
More information about the VPD’s Child Find program can be found at www.komcpc.com
Dunbar Memorial Preschool (DMP) is a parent participation preschool that has been celebrating play as the cornerstone of children’s early learning for nearly 50 years. At DMP play is paramount because play is an essential part of a child's life: a child grows, learns, communicates, acts and reacts through play. Our carefully crafted, multi-faceted programs emphasize this philosophy, enabling children to explore their first school setting freely and safely in a highly social, engaging and collaborative environment. Backed by a superb location in the Dunbar Community Centre, an unrivalled classroom setting and a stellar teaching staff, DMP is the educational play date for 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds. More information can be acquired at: www.dunbarmemorialpreschool.ca
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