National Interstate hosts 4th annual GoBabyGo car build

National Interstate Insurance Company (“National Interstate”) is hosting its fourth annual Race Car Build, where battery-powered, ride-on cars will be modified for use by children with mobility issues to assist in improving motor skills, as well as communication and social skills. The effort is being undertaken in partnership with Cleveland State University’s GoBabyGo program, which seeks to develop new technological innovations that can increase mobility and interaction and allow kids to be kids.

The newest series of cars, donated by National Interstate, will be built at a workshop at National Interstate’s headquarters, 3250 Interstate Drive Richfield, Ohio, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on October 27.The event will include the children and families who will be receiving these cars, with each child “racing” their car past the finish line at the end of the day’s event. 

“This is the fourth year in a row that National Interstate has partnered with CSU for the GoBabyGo car-building workshop. I can’t tell you how excited the volunteers are after seeing a child with limited mobility take their new, modified car for a spin around our campus. But the joy of the child and their family in having this inventive form of mobility is the reason we continue to partner with CSU and GoBabyGo,” said Tony Mercurio, President and CEO of National Interstate.

“GoBabyGo is designed around the concept that play is an important component of child development, and mobility issues should not be a hindrance in allowing kids to join their friends in having fun,” says Madalynn Wendland, Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Health Sciences at CSU. “Our partnership with National Interstate is a central component of our overall mission and I would like to thank them for the tremendous support they have provided to GoBabyGo and the children we serve.”

National Interstate has been working with Cleveland State’s GoBabyGo program since 2015 and has built and donated over 100 vehicles for children in Northeast Ohio. 

GoBabyGo is a national initiative designed to improve mobility for children through the use of modified ride-on cars and hands-free harness structures. At CSU, faculty, researchers and students seek to incorporate these technologies into everyday routines including play and leisure activities. Giving a child a new way to engage with their environment and interact with their family and peers puts the child - instead of the diagnosis - in the driver's seat.  

For more information about GoBabyGo at CSU, visit csuohio.edu/sciences/health-sciences/gobabygo-csu.