More than thirty vehicles will be on display at Diggerland USA, New Jersey’s construction-themed adventure park for their first-ever Touch-a-Truck event, September 12th at 9:00 a.m.
The free community event is co-hosted by the SAMBULANCE, a 501(c) 3 that promotes safety education in the special needs community, and takes place from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Diggerland parking lot. The event will start with a sensory-friendly hour to accommodate individuals with special needs who may be sensitive to horns and lights.
Children and their families will have the opportunity to touch, sit-in and explore real vehicles from a number of different industries. In addition to heavy machinery from Diggerland, some of the vehicles in attendance include: West Berlin Fire Department’s fire truck, HousePaws’ Mobile Vet, Camden County’s Health RV, Exceptional Medical Transport’s Ambulance, 7 Oil Company’s fuel truck and the Ford Tonka Truck.
“For children who love trucks, the opportunity to get hands-on with these vehicles is really special,” said Annie Peters, Executive Director of the SAMBULANCE. “For the special needs community, we’re doing back-to-back events at Diggerland that really help further our message of safety.”
The inaugural Touch-a-Truck falls the morning after a special needs event at Diggerland. Special Abilities Night at Diggerland, or SAND, takes place September 11th from 5:00 to 8:00 PM and gives individuals with special needs and their families the opportunity to drive, ride and operate real heavy machinery.
“We are so excited to partner with Diggerland to host the first Touch-a-Truck event and second special needs night,” said Peters. “These events help familiarize people of all ages with vehicles they see every day. The events are a fun way to help educate the special needs community on how to interact with the vehicles safely.”
Proceeds from vendor registration and on-site raffles at the September 12th Touch-a-Truck event will help the SAMBULANCE continue to spread their message of special needs safety education throughout the state.
For more info on Diggerland USA, visit its website right over here.
