Members Jose Garcia and Mickey DePalo were quoted in the weekend August 16-17, 2003 Burbank Leader. The following is the article in its entirety.

A truckload of fun for kids - City's Mobile Recreation Unit brings free toys and activities to children
By Ben Godar, Photos by Scott Roby

For children who can't make it to the city's recreation programs, the Mobile Recreation Unit is bringing the activities to them.

Parks, Recreation and Community Services employees take the brightly colored truck to various parks throughout the summer. Inside the truck is everything from basketballs to board games to art supplies - and it's all free.

About a dozen mothers gathered with their children Thursday at the truck's first stop at Mountain View Park. The truck parked in the shade while the toddlers stacked blocks, rolled balls and climbed through plastic tunnels.

Alex Lowber-Himmel, 3, took a break from stacking some blacks to compare the Mobile Recreation Unit to a trip to the toy store. "Sometimes I go to the toy store; here, I get toys from the truck," he said.

Andrea Searle, who brought her 19 month old daughter Katelyn to the park, said the other kids were as much fun as the toys.

"It's good for them to interact with each other," she said.

While the morning crowd at Mountain View Park was made up solely of toddlers, Recreation Leader Jose Garcia said the unit draws older kids to play basketball and chess.

"We try to get to the high school kids," he said. "They don't have some of the programs that the middle school kids do."

The Mobile Recreation Unit has been offering free activities to kids throughout the city for about nine years, Recreation Program Coordinator Mickey DePalo said. The city operates two of the specially equipped vehicles, which he said were purchased with money donated by Burbank Police from drug seizures.

"A lot of people take the schedule and show up where we're at," he said. "We get kind of a following."

In addition to stops at local parks, the units stop at events like the Outdoor Picture Shows in the IKEA Courtyard. During the school year, the unit provides activities for kids after school.