(Posted April 6, 2009)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- With the Kentucky Derby only a few weeks away, fans of watching things circling a track can prepare by watching speedy tricycles pedaled by preschoolers at Juniata College's Early Childhood Education Center for a trike-a-thon to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Thursday, April 16 and Friday, April 17 on the Juniata campus.

This marks the seventh year the Early Childhood Education Center has held the Trike-a-thon.
The children will be riding their tricycles at the center's playground track from 11 to 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 to 3 p.m., Thursday and from 11 to 11:30 a.m. on Friday.

"We're using the trike-a-thon to raise the children's awareness of traffic safety rules and learning about empathy for others such as children in the hospital with serious diseases,"

Sylvia McDowell, co-director, Early Childhood Education Center.


The children will ride through a course set up with traffic cones and all riders will wear safety helmets. In case of rain or other inclement weather, the event will be rescheduled from 11 to 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 to 3 p.m., Monday, April 20.

"We're using the trike-a-thon to raise the children's awareness of traffic safety rules and learning about empathy for others such as children in the hospital with serious diseases," says Sylvia McDowell, co-director of the center.

Members of the community can make donations as the children are riding. Children enrolled at the center also will bring home sponsor forms for friends, relatives and neighbors to sponsor their rides.
The Early Childhood Education Center is a preschool program for children 3 to 5 years old, Monday through Friday from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and Monday through Thursday from noon to 3 p.m. Children may also attend all day. For enrollment or any other information about the center, please call (814) 641-3401.

The center now accepts children through the CCIS (Child Care Information Services) subsidized care program. Call (814) 643-4980 for more information.

All donations received during the trike-a-thon will go to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The hospital was founded in 1962 in Memphis, Tenn., as a hospital specializing in treatment of catastrophic diseases. All patients accepted for treatment at St. Jude are treated without regard to the family's ability to pay.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.