The annual Junior Woman’s Touch a Truck event took place on October 10 at Eisenhower Park. The event was from 11 am to 2 pm.

     The Junior Woman’s Club is an organization that has almost 80,000 members and 3,200 clubs worldwide. This club actively participates in community service opportunities and organizes the event.

     People were dressed in all kinds of different costumes and there were 25 different trucks available for families to walk up to as well as sit in. This included a truck with a station for the children to take pictures with Santa Claus.

     Taking pictures with Santa was one of the most popular activities at Touch A Truck. The line continued to grow with eager children to see Santa.

     Sophomore Emily Maruottolo says, “I think the purpose of touch a truck is to give a creative way to raise money for important causes, like the Junior Women’s club of Milford.  It’s a fun day for everyone, kids, family, and the volunteers.”

     Volunteers helped work the event by selling raffles to people and handing out candy to the kids. There were food trucks set up and an area for toy monster truck racing.

     Many of the volunteers at the event were students from Foran’s Key Club. There were also volunteers from other organizations such as Lions Heart, another community service group.

     Key Club advisor Catherine Ganun states, “We had 37 volunteers.” 

     These 37 volunteers were from the key club alone and some of the activities that people signed up for were santa helpers, lunch helpers, handing out candy, and working the parking lot.

     One of the activities planned, face painting, didn’t happen due to Covid-19. Masks were required for anyone not vaccinated, but for all those who were vaccinated, masks were not mandatory.

     Maruottolo says, “The event had the actual touch a truck obviously, but there were also raffles, food trucks, toy car races, and even an opportunity to meet Santa. Many of the vendors and trucks were handing out candy as well.”

     The event did get rained out in the last two hours but a majority of people stayed through it as long as they could.

     The staff and volunteers helped disinfect the trucks, and create a safer environment for everyone who attended. 

     Organizers and volunteers worked together to make the event safe and enjoyable for everyone who attended.