GoBabyGo! Helps Two Toddlers Gain Independence

Edgewood Middle School students are modifying two Jeeps to help two toddlers gain more mobility.
In 2019, Abbi Richcreek, an engineering/robotics and technology teacher at Edgewood, launched a GoBabyGo! chapter at the school to provide innovative mobility solutions for young children with physical impairments.
The program adapts ride-on toy cars that meet each child’s unique needs, giving them increased independence and the opportunity to move, play and connect with others, according to provided information. There is no cost to the families receiving the customize vehicles.
Since the beginning of the program, more than $30,000 has been raised to support the program. Funding has been made possible through private donations, as well as support from the Warsaw VFW and Kosciusko Endowment Youth Services (KEYS) grants. Participants are identified through Warsaw Community Schools Special Services, Joe’s Kids and private therapists.
Since its inception, 31 ride-on toy cars have been customized for children in the community. In 2026, two additional vehicles are being modified.
During the program, EMS students work in teams with mentors from Dalton, DePuy and Johnson & Johnson. The teams work on the Jeeps for several weeks. The engineers spend an average of 14 or more hours mentoring students. The program typically includes six or seven sessions, each lasting about two hours, during which engineers and students work together to design and build a customized 12-volt ride-on vehicle. The design might have to be reconfigured at that point.
During the modification process, the teams take into consideration what issues there are with the toddler, whether it be a mobility issue or something else, and modify the Jeep accordingly.
The Big Drive Event will take place during Edgewood’s sixth-grade open house at 6:30 p.m. March 4. Vehicle recipients Emmanuel Juarez and Benjamin Johnson will take the Jeeps home with them after the event.
Edgewood student Evan Goshert said this is the second year he’s participated in the GoBabyGo! program.
“It was really fun experience and I learned a lot last year. And I wanted to just come back and learn even more and make more friends here,” he said.
Some of the things Goshert has learned while participating in the program is fixing and solving problems and wiring and drilling.
“My hope is that the kids involved have so much fun and feel really included and when I get out, I just want to have a bunch of life skills in being a better person and about being a better role model,” he said.
Some of the obstacles Goshert said he’s seen while modifying the Jeeps is fixing things and adding things.
This is Edgewood student Jarvish Siram’s first year in the program. He wanted to be involved due to the whole experience in helping others “and I like hands-on stuff and robotics stuff, so I was interested,” he said.
During the process of modifying the Jeeps, Siram has learned how to wire a lot of things. Siram said the hope is to finish the Jeeps and give them to Juarez and Johnson.
Parent Jessica Juarez said she hopes the modified jeep can give Emmanuel some freedom since he needs her to move around from place to place. She hopes it will allow Emmanuel to play with his siblings.
Larrie Davis, from DePuy, has been a mentor for several years. In the project this year, the students and mentors involved have done electrical wiring and fabrication work and 3D printing some parts. He thinks some of the students involved enjoy being involved in the program because some participate in more than one year. The students get the opportunity to do things in the program they may not see at home, he said.