ROGERS — Alexis Diaz stood in line Saturday morning, his eyes glued to Sponge-Bob SquarePants who waved and teetered only 3 feet away.
“SpongeBob! SpongeBob!” Alexis, 6, called. “Those are not real shoes !”
Toyota of Northwest Arkansas teamed with Cox Communications to hold a toy drive for Northwest Arkansas’ Court Appointed Special Advocates, an organization that began in 1997, which helps abused and neglected children through the justice system. People coming to see the Nickelodeon cartooncharacter, SpongeBob, at the Rogers dealership brought at least one new toy for Christmas presents for children who are in foster care or separated from their homes, the organization’s officials said.
At the same time, parents got an opportunity to have safety seats inspected by the Benton County sheriff’s office and their children fingerprinted digitally. Police say fingerprinting children helps police identify them should a child become lost.
Volunteers and organizers said Saturday’s event was a combination of charity for the advocacy group and children’s safety.
Hundreds of children came from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. to see their favorite cartoon character.
“I like SpongeBob. I like it a lot,” said Rochan Vanam, 5. “He does funny things.”
The sponge, who lives in a pineapple under the sea on the cartoon, was the main attraction Saturday. Cox partnered with Nickelodeon to get SpongeBob for about $1,500. The entire event cost between $3,000 and $4,000 but is paid mostly by in-kind services, Cox spokesman Kelly Hale Zega said.
“SpongeBob is here because we know SpongeBob draws a huge amount of attention,” Zega said. “Sometimes I’m not sure if the children are more excited or the parents are more excited to meet SpongeBob.”
Several parents snapped photos of one another with SpongeBob or huddled in family groups around the bucktoothed, yellow sponge. Joyce Lawrence of Siloam Springs made a day out of the Rogers event, bringing her three grandchildren - ages 10, 7 and 3 - to be digitally fingerprinted and visit SpongeBob.
“They saw the commercial and wanted to see Sponge-Bob,” Lawrence said.
By 11:30 a.m., at least 300children had been photographed and fingerprinted, according to Headline News Network, the company in charge. Dozens of people talked to the advocacy group’s workers or picked up brochures and about 400 toys were donated during the event, Pinkley said.
People wanted to know more about the organization, Pinkley said.
“These are the children of our community, these are our neighbor’s children,” Benton County Advocate Supervisor Anne Pinkley said. “All children deserve a voice.”
During the first hour of the event, two people said they are interested in becoming volunteers, something the organization needs. The advocacy group has 130 trained volunteers and serves 376 children, about half of whom are in foster care, Director Crystal Vickmark wrote inan e-mail Thursday.
“Our biggest need for volunteers right now is in Benton and Carroll counties,” Vickmark said. “We currently have 45 volunteers working with 95 children.”
The organization helpschildren find families faster, gets them through the justice system in 60 to 90 days instead of a year or more and ensures they complete courtmandated programs like tutoring, said Karen VanScoy, Friends of CASA coordinator. Providing an advocate costs $83 per month, Pinkley said.
“It really does benefit the rest of us who are like, ‘Let someone else take care of it,’” VanScoy said. “Who wants a bunch of kids in foster care?”
Outside, volunteers cooked hot dogs and passed out doughnuts. Families munched at tables while children with Junior Deputy stickers ran between showroom vehicles. Children inspected the sheriff ’s office’s helicopter and motorcycle while parents snapped photos or recorded video.
Kim Thatcher of Cox Communications was among four women who played Sponge-Bob on Saturday. She danced for Alexis after he pointed out SpongeBob’s feet.
“It’s for the children,” Thatcher said. “I just like to put a smile on the children’s faces.”
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 21 on 07/25/2010