Submitted by Carlee Mallard — Correspondent
Every weekend from Labor Day through October 31st you'll find a traditional farm transformed into a playground for kids of all ages at Green Acres in Cary. Families come from all over the Triangle to celebrate fall at the farm with face painting, a bounce house, bulldozers and tractors kids can climb on, striker games, a pretend milk cow, hay rides and most importantly, a huge corn maze all included in the entrance fee.
"Come back for the night maze," says Beth Ferrell, owner of Green Acres Farm. "Those are the most fun."
You'll also find a practical child identification service provided for free while you visit Green Acres. New York Life has already hosted five child identification events at the farm, photographing, fingerprinting and printing out identification cards for anywhere from 25 to 200 children per day, and is expected to host at least four more by the end of the season to help protect children in the event that they go missing.
New York Life will create two laminated ID cards on the spot for the parents to carry with them in their wallet or purse with a recent photo, fingerprints and distinguishing marks of their child (height, eye color, hair color, etc.).
Fred Barone, one of the New York Life agents who volunteers his time running these events explained that when kids are really young they look completely different from one year to the next, so getting identification done often is important. Parents often don't realize the reality that a child is reported missing every 40 seconds in the United States.
They started holding child ID events when Erick Barone, who was previously holding child ID events for New York Life in the New York office, moved down to Raleigh. He convinced his father Fred to start running child ID events in the Triangle.
It wasn't hard to convince him to get involved either.
"My son Erick was 5. He was playing with his bicycle in the driveway and I was gardening. I saw a car pull up, there were 2 men in the car and they tried to abduct him right in front of my house. They didn't see me because I was kneeling down and gardening in the bushes. I ran out, they took off," Fred recalled. "It was a very scary experience."
At the time he didn't have an identification card for his son and now believes passionately in helping to increase the odds of finding missing children.
"Hosting an event like this, which provides safety lessons to ensure a happier, safer environment for children of the community, is just another way we're serving the needs to local families," he said.
You can find out more about Green Acres Farm, dates and hours of operation at greenacrescary.com/cornmaze and to find out when New York Life will be there holding child identification events.
You may also contact Fred Barone at (919) 462-6211 to set up a private child ID event.
