750 AT-RISK YOUTH ENJOY BEACH PLAY DAYS

ATV riding is a big hit in Huntington Beach; CORVA and NOHVCC on hand to help kids experience OHVs 

      A unique event held in southern California every year gives kids who rarely have opportunities for quality outdoor recreation a chance to experience many new things during a fun-filled two days on Huntington Beach. Called Beach Play Days, this year's event which was held in July, marks the seventh year for the popular program.

      More than 750 at-risk youth between the ages of 8 and 17 participated in the event sponsored by California State Parks, the State Parks Police Activities League and the California Police Activities League (PAL).

                                             BUSY AGENDA

      They were seven primary actives for the children to take part in including ATV rides, beach flags, boogie boarding, volleyball, hockey and rock climbing. A new event for this year was the Gale Webb Riders that featured ramp-to-ramp skateboarding, inline skating, and bicycles. Gale had a great message for the kids to stay in school and to follow their dreams.

       Of course there was lots of great food on hand for all the meals (generously donated by local businesses) and then there was a campfire and dance and a campout on the beach. The next day, the group got going again with all the fun.

                                         POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS

       "Too often too many kids are at-risk and on the brink of failure," said State Parks Director Ruth Coleman. "This program broadens their awareness of the opportunities that exist outside their immediate neighborhoods while spending time with positive adult role models. If we don't reach out and show we care, we just keep filling the juvenile justice system, and that's a sure road to failure.

                      LOTS OF HANDS IN THE ATV PROGRAM

      The California Off-Road Vehicle Association's (CORVA) Harold Soens, along with
other ATV Safety Institute instructors, provided the ATVs for the ride as well as taking on, with major manpower assistance from AMA District 37, the California Off-Road Coalition and American Honda, the mighty task of setting up all the hay bales, getting each kid outfitted for riding and providing lots of supervision. Soens, who is also a NOHVCC California State Representative, played a major role in the ATV project portion of Beach Play Days as he and his wife do every year. Harold rounds up most of the volunteers for the ride program and coordinates and cooks breakfast for all of the kids. Soens spends all three days at the event at his own expense and basically works from pre-dawn until late at night.

        Many of these kids come from broken homes with a single parent that does not have a lot of time for them," explains Harold. "The kids have to sign a contract that they will stay out of trouble and keep a C grade avrerage at school. One-third of these kids have never even seen the ocean even though they come from the LA and surrounding areas. So we think this is a great program and is certainly worth the effort we put into it every year."

        NOHVCC Project Coordinator Dana Bell, who resides in nearby Long Beach, was
also on hand with the NOHVCC Adventure Trail, coloring books and brochures."Beach Play Days is always a lot of fun for both the participants and the volunteers," Dana reported. "It's great to see so many kids experience OHVs for the first time, and at the same time we get to give them our riding ethics and safety messages right off the bat."



ORGANIZATIONS WHO HELPED MAKE BEACH PLAY DAYS A SUCCESS

· The Air National Guard
· Police Activities League
· Orange County Fire Authority
· Huntington Beach Police Department
· Telcom Inc
· Pac West
· CORVA
· NOHVCC
· Golden State Foods
· Nirvana Produce
· Energy Brands, Inc.
· Wheel Fun Rentals
· Sysco
· American Honda
· Athletics Unlimited
· In-n-out
· Hoag Hospital
· California State Parks Foundation
· Nestea
· San Diego Off Road Coalition
· AMA District 37
· Domino’s Pizza
· Chemhelp
· California State Lifeguard Association

And thanks to all the volunteers who generously donated their time.

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