CHAPEL HILL-A little later this spring, one local business leader is giving the area’s elementary school aged children the opportunity to come out for a day of fun—and all of the proceeds will also be helping young people.

April will mark the annual “Touch A Truck” event at University Mall. Tom Proctor of the Vacuum Cleaner Hospital, who’s orchestrating the event, says attendees will be able to see and touch vehicles of all types.

“We’ve had the UNC Hospital helicopters, we’ve had fire trucks, dump trucks, and all sorts of things the kids can climb onto and try out.”

Half of the proceeds from the day will go toward the North Carolina Children’s Hospital’s Promise Grant program, and the other half will go toward Boy Scout Troop 39 at University Methodist Church.

Proctor says Troop 39 is one of the oldest Boy Scout Troops in the U.S.

“Last year, this troop just celebrated its 100th anniversary of continuous charter as a troop,” he says.

The Promise Grant Program, meanwhile, helps the area’s needy children in a variety of different ways.

“They buy iPads and cameras for kids with these illnesses,” he says. “It’s not going specifically to the hospital budget, but it’s helping them out in various areas.”

Last year’s Touch A Truck event drew a crowd of almost 3,000 children and parents.

Touch A Truck will take place on April 14 from noon until 4 p.m. Tickets are $5 per person.