Last Friday, October 14th, The Switchbacks and Weidner Field hosted the non-profit group The Resource Exchange for their muc beloved and annual event, ‘Go Baby Go’. The event serves to build and modify toy cars for children aged 1-3, in a way that enables the child to drive the car. TRE pairs with parents of children with various physical and mental delays, as well as their occupational therapists, to ensure a safe and enriching play experience. Things like modified gas pedals, extra padding, and seat harnesses, are among the various specialty modifications that volunteers make to the cars to increase their accessibility.
Mobility is one of the first and most important tools of a developing child’s ‘toolbox’ and creating accessible cars helps enable these children to develop independent skills early in life that they may not otherwise have.
Over twenty volunteers from six different local groups attended the event on Friday. The volunteers were split into six teams each tasked with building (toy) model car for a specific chlld. After the car was built, the child’s occuptional therapist stepped in to help guide the modification process – something that was custom based on each child’s needs. The final, and most fun, step was to have the families and the children decorate and then test out the car.
These vehicles, while they make look like fun luxury toys to some, are essential to the development and growth of the children involved in the project, and the Switchbacks, their staff, and Weidner Field, were more than happy to get involved.
