— Photos by Claudia Ferro

On Friday, August 25, members of the King Solomon’s Masonic Lodge of Somerville along with the Delta Lodge of Braintree donated Project Delta Kits to the Somerville Police Department.

The kits are small bags filled with stuffed animals. They are meant to be used to provide comfort to a small child by a first responder, where they can give the child a stuffed animal to keep. It allows for a distraction, redirection, or something to focus on while the child may be involved in a situation of stress or trauma; an accident, a fire, domestic situation etc.

The bags that these kits are made up of can also be used in an emergent situation to gather together belongings should the need arise and there is a sudden requirement to remove the child for any reason.

Kits were provided for every police cruiser and the Masons will replenish them as needed, free of charge.

The same Lodges also went to the Department of Children and Families right after this and donated ten large stuffed animals along with bags for similar reasons to Case manager Alfred Totten and Jacob McNally. It is the 3rd donation of this kind to them since April of this year.

The same Lodges also went to the Department of Children and Families right after this and donated ten large stuffed animals along with bags for similar reasons to Case manager Alfred Totten and Jacob McNally. It is the third donation of this kind to them since April of this year.

Masons attending the presentation included Mark AuBuchon and Andrei Gregori, both from King Solomon’s Lodge, along with Jonathan Hinthorne from Delta Lodge, who is the inspiration for the kits and Lt. William Rymill of the Somerville Police Department from Thomas Talbot Lodge. He, Lt. Carmine Vivolo, and Captain Jefferey Digregorio are the officers attending from the Somerville Police Department.