Ryan and I are asked to photograph and participate in any number of projects with a purpose and we’re honored and appreciative. Then there are others that are deeply cool. This is one of those. We heard about this from a friend who started it and it’s both a fundraiser and awareness campaign. On June 1st of this year, we volunteered for and photographed North Wilkesboro’s inaugural Touch-A-Truck event.

A little back story: Dolly Parton is an icon. She’s the truth. We sort of knew that. But what you may not know is that she started the Imagination Library. This foundation organizes to distribute a free book every month to a child until the age of 5. I signed up for my son Finley when I heard about it. What a concept for kids who are not in preschool or daycare! Locally, this work is handled by the Wilkes Community Partnership for Children. The WCPC is a major advocate for early childhood development, providing education, materials, workshops, and loads of books.

News of this first event had people wondering if it could be pulled off, but folks like Matt Matthews from State Farm, the North Wilkesboro Rotary Club and a strong volunteer core pulled together to host over 900 people and children that day. A FREE day, from 10 am – 2 pm, parents and kiddos, girls and boys, climbed on every type of truck, tractor, first responder vehicle and had a free meal too. 900+! Not bad, huh?

I honestly don’t know what I love more about this event: the cute kids in their little bucket hats sitting in oversized cabs, the community all gathered in an effort to support our kids, or the sheer magnitude of vehicles that were rounded up to participate. Members of the Rotary contributed enough for everyone who attended to enjoy a hot dog and drink under a big shelter where there were more books and games and activities. One last amazingly cool thing about this event: they set aside an hour for children who are sensory sensitive and don’t like too much stimulus, noise, hubbub. Those sweeties were able to enjoy the trucks and other vehicles too. I just love that. Can you tell I’m passionate about this project?

Ryan photographed while I worked. Both boys and girls loved it – yes, girls – there was a pink firetruck! We were not paid but are passionate about being a part of this event. Looking forward to being a part of next year’s.

We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs, engagements and weddings, brides, and special events and portraits  of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States LicenseAll photos are ©2019 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.