Community Corner
Reading PD Open House To Feature Family Fun, Safety Services
There will be bouncy houses, food, demonstrations by the police K-9 Unit and representatives from the MYCHIP child identification program.
READING, MA — The annual Reading Police Department Open House on Saturday will feature family fun and some important safety services.
The free event will take place from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Reading Police Department, located at 15 Union St.
At the Open House, there will be bouncy houses, a tattoo artist and pizza and snacks.
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Among those scheduled to attend the event are: members of the Massachusetts National Guard, The Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC), the Massachusetts State Police and the Reading Department of Public Works.
Both the Reading PD and NEMLEC will have motorcycles on display.
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Reading School Resource Officer Matthew Vatcher and his comfort dog Rusty also are expected to attend the event. Meanwhile, police K-9 Tango and his handler, Patrol Officer Chris Briere, will be performing demonstrations at 11:45 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 12:45 p.m. and 1:15 p.m.
Additionally, representatives from Make a Wish are expected to be at the Open House discussing the Heroes for Hope campaign, which gives first responders a chance to grant life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. Donations can be made online.
During the Open House, families will have a chance to participate in the Masonic Youth Child Identification Program (MYCHIP) in the second-floor training room of the police station. The program is free and offered by the Masons of Massachusetts.
MYCHIP provides tools to help law enforcement find and identify a lost or missing child. Since the program began in 1988, more than 300,000 children have been identified thanks to the program.
On Saturday, MYCHIP will help families create a brief video interview, which, in the case of a missing child, can be distributed to the media in order to reach a large audience. Families also will have a chance to get fingerprints of their children.
All identifying materials will be given to the child's family and none of the information will be copied, according to representatives from MYCHIP.
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