Touch A Truck
| First Name | Christine |
| Last Name | Cooper |
| saugeenshoreskin@gmail.com | |
| Club Name | Kin Club of Saugeen Shores |
| District # | 1 |
| Number of Members | 11-25 |
| Community Size | Small community (less than 20,000) |
| Community Type | Rural |
| Project Name | Touch A Truck |
| Type of Project (check all that apply) | Fair, Carnival |
| If other, please describe | |
| Was this project a fundraiser? | No |
| Description of project | The purpose of this event was to entertain the community for a very low fee, fun for the whole family on a summer's day. For this event we bring in various vehicles from many sources and have them all on display in an open area, for us, our beach parking lot/pavilion area. Families pay a single low fee ($4/kid, $6/ adult or $20 max/ family) and get to climb inside of each of the vehicles we have on display (ex: tractor, semi truck, combine, police car, fire truck, ambulance, race car, mail truck, dump truck, etc.). We provide a fee bouncy castle and games for the kids, as well as face painting, a race car simulator and balloons. Our club provides a low cost BBQ on site so families can enjoy an easy lunch without breaking the bank. We always try to have at least one "celebrity car" as well. In the past we have had Tow Mater (a huge hit with the 10 and under crowd) and Batman with his Batmobile. |
| Service Hours | 51-100 |
| Did you leverage this project as a way to recruit new members? | Unsure |
| If you answered yes to the question above, please explain: | |
| How was this project promoted in your community? | We always have a printed poster displayed in many places around the community. In the past we paid for ad space in the local paper. We have found that creating an event page on Facebook and having posters up has been our best "bang for the buck" for advertising. |
| What were some challenges you faced with this project, and how could your project be improved? | Some challenges included not getting confirmation from all of our vehicles and, some vehicles showing up with no confirmation at all. We've learned that having a scheduled arrival plan for each vehicle is critical to set up and the safety of our volunteers and guests. There are still some iconic local vehicles that have not been able to be at the event due to timing restrictions, ie: combine and other farming vehicles - as our event takes place during harvest season. Our event could always be improved, and we are always looking for new ideas and considerations. |
| What was the approximate budget for this project? | $1,000-$5,000 |
| If the project was a fundraiser, what were the sources of revenue for this project? | BBQ sales (burgers, hot dogs, drinks, etc.) Admission fees Sponsorship - a key for many of our paid exhibitors. |
| If this was a fundraiser, how much money was raised (minus expenses)? | Not Applicable |
| What were the expenses for this project? | Standard BBQ expenses. Bouncy Castle fees/rental rates. Special guest/Celebrity vehicle rates Posters/advertising Some site specific event costs. |
| Is there anything else you would like to share that would assist another club in duplicating this project in their community? | The community hours in this project seem high, but it was mostly establishing relationships with the vehicles' drivers and making sure that they are completely comfortable with the event and well taken care of. The day itself only required 14 volunteers and it clean up very quickly (the cars all leave and we went home to celebrate.) We have also formed a partnership with our local telecommunications company and they provide vehicles and sponsorship every year. We run the event from 11- 4 on a Saturday so that it's something easy to access and keep the kids busy on a late August afternoon. Parents always seem very appreciative. We have run the event 3 times now, each being a bigger success than the previous year. |