Picnic a noble effort for families
In Thursday’s edition of the Butler Eagle, staff reported on the annual picnic hosted by Alliance for Nonprofit Resources and Butler County’s Human Service department at Succop Nature Park.
The picnic was for those with intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, autism and medically complex conditions who are in the county’s Intellectual Disabilities program.
Melissa Vettori, family liaison for Butler County, said the event drew a larger crowd than in previous years, likely due to the addition of first responders.
Ambulances from Butler Ambulance and Cranberry EMS, a state police booth, Penn Township Volunteer Fire Department, the county’s massive emergency services unit vehicle, the county Sheriff’s Department, Middlesex Township Police Department’s K9 unit and others set up in the parking lot.
Events such as these are vital for those with disabilities. Some parents love the opportunity it provides for socialization, but the addition of the first responders also ensured their children’s safety if the need arose.
Stickers for homes and cars were distributed to alert any first responders to the presence of an individual who “may not respond as expected” in an emergency.
Vettori said another major drive behind the addition of the first responders was to familiarize those at the picnic with the officers, firefighters and ambulance personnel. That knowledge could save a life down the road.
We applaud the efforts of those involved, and thank them for their time volunteering. Hopefully, the precautions will never be necessary.
— CM
