John Arrowsmith shows off National Child Identification Kits available free at Saturday’s Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast. Courtesy/Kiwanis ClubParents: Go to the Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 6 at the Betty Ehart Senior Center and pick up a free identification kit for each of your children while enjoying a good, inexpensive meal.
Normally, an American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) National Child Identification Program kit costs $7.50, but the Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos has purchased them in bulk and will be providing them free to families as a service to the community.
John Arrowsmith, who arranged to have the kits available this weekend, said that each one includes an inkless fingerprint kit, a DNA collection swab, a physical description form, space for a photograph and a wallet card.
Arrowsmith will have a table set up in the lobby of the Senior Center where the kits will be handed out. Both Arrowsmith and a Los Alamos Police Department officer will be present to help parents fingerprint their children and collect a DNA sample if they want to complete the process immediately. Parents also will have the option of taking the kit home and doing the work there by themselves.
Once the process is completed, parents should keep the cards and forms on file in a handy, secure place so that in an emergency, identification material can be provided instantly to the police.
Tickets for Saturday’s breakfast are available for purchase from Kiwanis members or at the door. The cost is $6 for adults, $5 for students ages 12 to 18 and senior citizens over age 60, and $4 for young people ages 4 to 11. Toddlers will be fed free.
Maridell Nochumson, chairwoman for the Kiwanis event, and Arrowsmith, also a Kiwanis member, noted that this is an unusual opportunity to do two good things at once.
Income from the breakfast will be used to finance Kiwanis service projects.
