The rainy weather only slightly let up Saturday, but families and their children with special needs wore sunny smiles as they were treated to free admission, food and games at Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom.
Their visit to the South Whitehall Township amusement park was sponsored by A Kid Again, a Columbus, Ohio, organization that offers cost-free experiences to children with life-threatening or debilitating conditions. Children and their parents, siblings and caregivers all received free access to rides and lunch at the park.
“I applied for the tickets, and it was amazing giving me the opportunity to come here,” said Litza Morales of Lancaster, who brought her children, Emmanuel and Gerard, to the park. “Without that service, that offer or gift, it’s impossible for us right now to come.”
Because of the weather, the organization offered families who RSVP’d to the event a “rain check” for another day at Dorney. Still, many families, donning ponchos and holding umbrellas, took advantage.
Dorney Park’s partnership with A Kid Again is now in its fifth year. More than 1,000 children and their families were expected to attend Saturday,
Rachel and Danny Bawor of Doylestown brought their two children, 8-year old Silas and 5-year-old Mckenzie, to enjoy the rides and experience. Mckenzie has Leigh syndrome, a rare nervous system disorder; only eight other people in the world share the same genetic mutation. Mckenzie, her parents said, sees 14 specialists at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for the progressive condition.
“I said [to my husband], ‘I don’t think we should go, there’s so much rain, this is a lot with kids,’ ” Rachel Bawor said. “He always says to me, ‘We have to dance in the rain and just get through the storms.’ So here we are, soggy doggies.”
Bawor left her job to become a full-time caregiver for Mckenzie. It was their first time coming to A Kid Again event, which they heard about through a social worker at CHOP.
“It’s definitely a family effort, it’s our story that we’re given. We all kind of pitch in, even Silas helps us so much doing all the medications and fluid,” Bawor said. “He’s her best friend.”
Another family, Anthony Herman and his wife Gemma of Philadelphia, enjoyed the preemptive Father’s Day gift with their three kids, 8-year-old Finn, 5-year-old Isla and 3-year-old Eden. Finn has spina bifida, a spinal condition that required fetal surgery at CHOP and can lead to bladder issues and the possibility of becoming a wheelchair user.
“It’s pouring, but we’re just having a great time,” Anthony Herman said. “They’re smiling, and who cares? We have ponchos on. Just the fact that [A Kid Again] put together something like this is incredible. We feel very lucky that it exists.”
Upon walking up to the park, tents staffed with volunteers took the families’ names and gave identifying stickers and wristbands to the guests. Even as the families slowly trickled in, volunteers like Yanique Edouard stayed all smiles as she checked kids and their parents and caregivers in.
Edouard’s second year volunteering inspired her to bring her daughter, Savannah, to help volunteer with the cause. Edouard is a retired surgical technician in Easton who found out about the event through a volunteer match last year and came back again for another year of experience.
“Unfortunately the weather didn’t bring out as many people as we wanted to come,” Edouard said. “But I love this. This is very rewarding. This is empathy and compassion. It makes you really feel wonderful. You appreciate it about your life and being able to help these people, help the families. I think A Kid Again is a wonderful organization.”
The next A Kid Again adventure for the Mid-Atlantic chapter are free tickets to the Crayola Experience in Easton on Sept. 14. Other nearby adventures include tickets to Cedar Point in Ohio for the Pittsburgh chapter on June 22, and free admission to a Washington Nationals baseball game Aug. 3 for the DMV chapter.
