www.gmwp.org/chip

revised 3/31/2008

The Grand Lodge of Tennessee is in the early stages of planning and implementing a C.H.I.P. program.

The first C.H.I.P. program is underway and is being conducted by Farris Creek Lodge #509 in Lynchburg for the local and Moore County schools. For more information, please contact Farris Creek Lodge's Secretary:

For more information about CHIP and experiences of other Grand Lodges, please visit www.masonichip.org. The following information is excerpted from that site:

MASONIC CHIP is one of the most comprehensive Child Recovery, Identification and Abduction Awareness Education programs offered at no cost--free of charge to parents in North America.

MASONIC CHIP EVENTS are being sponsored on an ever-increasing level by the Freemason Grand Lodges in the jurisdictions of the United States and Provinces of Canada. In February 2004, the Conference of Grand Masters of Masons in North America met in Washington D.C. and authorized the creation of a new standing committee, the MASONIC CHIP SUPPORT Committee, to encourage and assist Masonic Grand Lodges to engage in Comprehensive Masonic Child Identification Programs.

At a MasoniCHIP EVENT, Freemasons set up the equipment and enlist the volunteers necessary to generate individual completed child identification packages that are given to a child's parent or guardian to take home for safe keeping (we keep nothing but a permission form). It is the responsibility of the parents to then provide the package to law enforcement, if their child becomes missing, as an aid to recover their child. Each child progresses through the several stations of the Event (it takes about 10-15minutes) generating an identifying item at each station and placing them in his or her package. Parents are reminded to take the package with them on trips and vacations as it can be immediately provided to authorities to aid in the recovery of a child that is missing or presumed abducted.