Brian Hagberg
WARREN, Pa. – Kids and families had the opportunity to explore a wide variety of vehicles and heavy equipment during the Jefferson DeFrees Family Center’s Touch-A-Truck event at Betts Park Saturday.
The annual event allows kids to experience what it’s like to be inside a number of different types of vehicles and serves as a fundraiser for JDFC programs.
“I’ve always told anybody if you’re having a bad day, just come sit down here and watch these kids,” JDFC Executive Director Melinda Johnson said. “They are so excited. It’s such a fun event.”
Vehicles ranging from police cars to fire trucks to school buses, tractors, race cars, and heavy construction vehicles were on hand Saturday for children and families to explore, inside and out.
“I think most of our vehicle participants are more than willing to come because I think they’re proud to show off their vehicles and two, it’s a great community effort and it’s a feel-good event,” Johnson said.
The ability to pique interest in firefighting, policing, school bus driving, or construction work at a young age can also potentially lead to a career later in life, Johnson added.
“As we know, there’s always a need for more firefighters and truck drivers and the people that really make a difference in our communities,” Johnson said.
There was no fee to enter the event, but JDFC collected donations and held a basket raffle and other fundraising games/contests to raise money for the center, particularly for participation in the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program.
“One of the largest programs that this will support is our Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, where we send free books to children ages five and under,” Johnson said. “In addition to the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, we also do FBI fingerprinting clearances for individuals who need those. We have meeting rooms and a gymnasium a fitness center, we also have our daycare. And our daycare tries to do a lot of meaningful field trips and activities. So this helps support some of those programs too.”
Johnson encouraged anyone interested in participating in any of the JDFC’s programs to visit their website, call the center at 814-723-6350, or stop by the office at 207 Second Ave in Warren.
