ESCONDIDO -- Karen Velez was just passing by the corner of Mission and Broadway on Sunday afternoon when the balloons and tents caught her eye. It caught the eye of her kids, too.

They stopped and joined the crowd at what turned out to be a child safety fair, designed to supply parents with identification cards for their kids, complete with a photo and a thumbprint. The children also were weighed and measured for height, all with an eye to getting the most current data possible for the ID cards.

"It's important, with all the things that can happen," said Velez, who added that she takes advantage of similar events offered at her children's schools. "Their faces are changing every year. It's important to do this every year."

The event marks the fifth year that the Check Center, a check cashing chain, has sponsored the fair, store manager Juliana Ortiz said.

Last year's safety fair drew about 200 people, said Ortiz and store employee Kristina Lucero. This year, the women said, they are hoping to nearly double that number.

"We do it because we want to give back to the community," Ortiz said. "People think that check cashers just cash checks. But that's not all we do. We give back to the community."

The company is also sponsoring an upcoming walk for the American Diabetes Association, and information about that event sat side by side with other booths at the safety fair Sunday.

Also a treat at the fair: a bicycle raffle -- the company supplied two cool kids bikes -- and a face-painting booth.

Karen Velez may have secured identification for the children, but her children got a little something, too. Eleven-year-old Jessica sparkled with the glitter sprinkled on the butterfly painted on her face, and brother Carlos, 7, boasted a painted whale on his arm.

Also stumbling across the fair as a passerby was Escondido resident Will Gonzalez, who had his daughter, Anacleto, 6, and son, Esprezana, 5, in tow.

"I saw that they were doing IDs," Gonzalez said. "If there is a crisis, it's good to have this information written down. And it's fun for the kids, too. It's like 'Hey, there's balloons.' "

Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.