Ford volunteers hand out backpacks at third annual Boo at the Zoo

Tim Resnick, who works in the regional Ford office in Kansas City in sales and marketing, was one of many Ford employees who handed out free backpacks to children like Parker, who is from Lincoln, Neb. Ford has sponsored Boo at the Zoo for the last three years.

After a typical week of wearing business attire for his job in the marketing and sales division at Ford’s regional office in Kansas City, Tim Resnick was a kid on Oct. 24.

Resnick, dressed in a green elf costume, stood at the entrance of the Kansas City Zoo on a cloudy Saturday morning with several other Ford employees. They handed out backpacks to children for the annual Boo at the Zoo event.

“For me, it is a lot of fun,” Resnick said. “It is cool to be at the front of the zoo. It is early in the morning. We kind of set the tone. We get the excitement going.”

Ford has sponsored Boo at the Zoo for the last three years. Ford volunteers gave out 4,000 backpacks on Oct. 24, another 4,000 on Oct. 25 and a final 4,000 on Oct. 31.

Each year at Boo at the Zoo, Ford has handed out more backpacks than the previous year. The first year it handed out 6,000 over two days. Last year, Ford increased that total to 8,000 over two days.

Tony Reinhart, Ford regional director of government and community relations, said the backpacks that are handed out are used for candy that children will receive when they walk by different stations set up throughout the zoo.

“It is a great opportunity to provide the experience for the kids to come to the zoo and combine it with Halloween and trick or treating and that stuff,” Reinhart said. “It is just a fun, safe Halloween experience. It is a great day.”

For employees like Resnick who was one of about 40 volunteers at Boo at the Zoo from Ford, the event gave him a chance to be a kid again for Halloween. Last year he dressed up as Hulk.

“The kids are dressed up. I might as well, too,” Resnick said.

The purpose of Boo at the Zoo is to provide a safe environment for children to receive candy while also enjoying the animals at the Kansas City Zoo.

Judging by the number of small children who arrived in costumes on the first morning of the event, Boo at the Zoo is popular.

“The last couple of years, you will get 20,000 people over the weekend,” Reinhart said.

The reward for the Ford employees is seeing the smiles on the faces of the children when they get their backpacks and head into the zoo for a day of fun and a few candy treats.

“When you hand a little kid a backpack and they have their costume on, it just makes you feel better,” Resnick said. “That is the reason we are here. It is for the kids. I am a kid myself. I enjoy handing them out just as much as they enjoy taking them.”

Reinhart said it is important for Ford to sponsor events like this and give back to the community.

“We want to do things not just for the community in general, but also for our employees,” Reinhart said. “We have almost 8,000 employees here. Plus, the auto industry here has over 18,000 employees.

“It is about giving back. You have to give back to the community. We do a number of things like a number of other companies in Kansas City. It is important to have these activities. They are fun to do.”

Reinhart pointed out that Ford has been a part of the Kansas City fabric for more than 100 years.

“Most people don’t realize that,” Reinhart said. “Our first operations outside of Michigan was Kansas City. We came here in 1906 with a sales and marketing office, and then in 1909 we started an assembly operation. We built Model Ts back then. In 1953-54, we started the operation that we have now in Claycomo. Kansas City has been part of our DNA for over a hundred years.”

And now they play a role in the yearly Boo at the Zoo. Employees like Resnick don’t mind volunteering a few hours of their time on the weekend to make sure Boo at the Zoo is successful.

“You get to come in here and have fun,” Resnick said. “There are a lot of good volunteers who walk around. It is a nice environment, and you get to see some animals, too. It is a good time. I love it every year.”

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Ford volunteers hand out backpacks at third annual Boo at the Zoo."