For all of those who dream of sitting in a fire truck or resting in the saddle of a police motorcycle, here’s your chance.
Those dreams can be realized at the Seventh Annual 5-K Run/2 Mile Family Fun Run & Walk and Touch-A-Truck Family Festival on Saturday morning at Reid Park.
“Tucson Electric Power brings in a truck with a crane and other fun trucks and we will have Tucson Police Department motorcycles and more than 25 different emergency vehicles and vehicles from local businesses,” said Nohemy Hite, founder of the event that has grown into the signature fundraiser for the Erik Hite Foundation. “It’s really special because not only are you are able to touch the vehicles, but you can actually climb in and sit in them and take pictures. Both kids and adults love it. It is just so much fun and the best part is to see the community come hang out with the first responders.”
Erik, an Air Force veteran, was slain in the line of duty as an officer with the Tucson Police Department in 2008. Nohemy established the foundation a year later in her husband’s honor to provide a child-care center and family outreach programs for the children of law enforcement, emergency services personnel and military families.
For the last six years, the foundation’s child-care center has offered flexible scheduling and extended hours for commissioned and noncommissioned personnel from the TPD, Pima County Sheriff’s Department, Arizona Department of Public Safety, U.S. Border Patrol, fire departments and active duty military. It serves about about 150 families.
The nonprofit is looking to expand in its current east-side location and add another facility in northwest Tucson to meet the ongoing demand, said Minnette Powell, foundation vice president.
“There are so many families who want to come here, but we are limited by space. These families have crazy work schedules, so we are open pretty much seven days a week. We have loving people in a secure facility who work with families and take the children on short notice and sometimes part-time and at night,” Powell said.
Powell, a mother of two adult daughters who is retired from the Air Force and works as a lead management analyst for TPD, understands the complexities of dealing with child care.
“I understand what it is like to try to concentrate on your job and to be worried about your children the entire time you are working. We have parents who give testimonials for our center who are so grateful that it makes them cry,” she said.
Ultimately, Powell said that the child-care center is not only a tribute to Erik Hite, but an asset to the entire community.
“Nohemy suffered a tragedy but she turned it around into a triumph. This foundation is the only one in the nation exclusively dedicated to providing child care for first responders and military families. She is the name and deed behind the organization and has worked tirelessly to bring in sponsors and donors,” Powell said.
