ALLENTOWN, Pa. — From reaching new heights on Linus Launcher to the thrills of Peanuts 500. It is all smiles at Dorney Park’s Day of Giving.
The park is providing free admission through multiple area non-profits, like the Michael Ann and Saquon Barkley Hope Foundation.
“Our mission is to support underserved youth and families, so anything we can do around kids, having them smile, having them just be kids and having a day to support that effort means a lot to us,” said Rachel Pritzker, board member with the Michael Ann and Saquon Barkley Foundation.
And a Kid Again– an organization that helps kids with illnesses.
“Today is just a chance to have fun with our family and not think about illness,” said Leila Zengel.
There were around 4,000 people at the event, including the Zengel family.
“This is a really neat opportunity to be reminded that there are folks out there who are looking to provide cool experiences for kids who may have missed out on things when facing illness or on hospital stays,” said Leila Zengel.
“I think it’s just an exciting time. A chance to do something fun with a lot of people who have similar experiences,” said Jacob Zengel.
Lori Ellis, who is with a Kid Again, said the non-profit brought 1,000 people here.
“Which is just fantastic because then again we just want to make sure every family gets a chance to make some lasting memories together,” said Ellis.
A day filled of fun.
“You just feel like this deep sense of gratitude that you get to be a part of something so transformative for somebody even if it’s just for a day; it feels very special,” said Ryan Eldredge, public relations manager at Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom.