Lynn families on common ground at Fun Day

LYNJN – The Lynn Common filled up with the shrieks and laughter of delighted children Thursday at the Family and Children?s Service of Greater Lynn?s third annual Family Fun Day.Maureen Willis, director of development for the FCS, said, “What we do is invite all of the local service providers and non-profit agencies into the commons and then they bring pamphlets, flyers and little prizes to give away.”?We market it to the whole community and tell them to bring their kids down. Then they can see the services that are available to them in Lynn,” she said.?The parents come and we have them sign in and the kids get a little tag and that entitles them to go through all of the events that we have,” added Willis.Events of the day included sack races, soccer games, face painting, bubble blowing, “fishing” from a plastic kiddy pool, moon bounces, playdough and more. Once the children completed all the events, they received their prizes.?If they are over six they get a backpack, and if they are under six they get a couple of books. It is an incentive for them to go around and really visit with everyone and learn about everything that?s here,” said Willis.Unlike previous years, United Way was not able to secure a corporate sponsor for the event, so volunteers stepped up, mostly FCS staff and Lynners who have utilized FCS services, like 13-year-old Natia Clarke who attends Thurgood Marshall Middle School.?I?m volunteering to help kids,” said Clarke. “It?s about helping kids and the after-school programs that help you with your homework.”The field hosted more than 20 vendors including the Lynn Community Health Center, Children?s Law Center, Kool Smile Dental and the North Shore MYCHIP program.?We are getting our CHIP IDs for both kids, 16 months and 4 years,” said Jennifer Nickola of Lynn. “They swab their DNA, you get pictures, fingerprints, so they can put out an amber alert in case the kids gets kidnapped or lost. We were planning on going to the events, but we went to the CHIP first because we thought that was more important.”MYCHIP, the Masonic Youth Child Identification Program, began in 1988 and has been an effective means in helping law enforcement find more that 250,000 kids since its inception. The program, which does not retain any of the identifying materials it provides for parents, creates a file containing a brief video interview, finger and tooth prints, as well as a cheek swab to gather genetic material.Children?s Law Center, a non-profit legal aid agency in Lynn, also took part in the activities, making parents aware of the various services they provide for child representation in the manner of education, juvenile justice and child welfare.?We have a statewide free intake line where any parent can call (781-581-1977). You can ask your questions, it is a free informational line and we also provide training for any person interested in learning about child law,” said Amanda Richard, community outreach coordinator at Children?s Law Center.The Daily Item set up a station to decorate Halloween visors, and hosted a raffle, giving away five tickets to the Barnum & Bailey Circus as well as a free subscription to the paper for two weeks.One of the main reasons that the FCS has Family Fun Day is to remind the community that the Lynn Common is a place for them and their children to have fun.?A lot of the demographic of the neighborhood is new refugees and immigrants, so they don?t know that this is common space,” said Willis.?They don?t understand the concept of what a common is all about. It?s a beautiful green space and they should use it. A lot of the families don?t feel that they can use the common in the afternoon unless there is a reason for them to come down here, so this kind of gets them out here on the commons and has the kids running around.”For parents like Annette Antwine, spending time with her son is her reason for attending the event, not the informational services provided.?I?m here to have fun with my son,” Antwine