An Orange County boy, who has been gifting hospitalized children with toys and books, has received a special gift of his own.
Joshua Conger, of Chino, has been organized toy drives since the coronavirus pandemic, primarily focusing on crowdsourcing toys, books, coloring books for sick kids at Children’s Hospital of Orange County.
LASD Motorsports, a nonprofit led by current, reserve, and retired deputies of the LA County Sheriff’s Department, learned about Joshua’s efforts, and decided to return the favor.
“Our program is very involved with the community,” Det. Andrew Armes with the LA County Sheriff’s Department said. “We try to get youth excited about motorsports, so we thought it was a good mix with Joshua and his program.”
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Armes said LASD Motorsports invited Joshua to tour the special bureau facilities at the Norwalk station where the 12-year-old got to speak with SWAT deputies and check out armored equipment that aims to keep the community safe.
“We took out our LASD Motorsports Tesla, and he just fell in love it,” Armes recalled. “We gave him a ride around the block, and the rest was history.”
One part of the tour might have been the coolest for Joshua. He had the rare opportunity to ride in an MRAP, a military-style tactical vehicle that is designed to hold out against improvised explosive device or ambush attacks.
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“It was a really cool experience for him,” Armed said. “He sat in the back of the MRAP and drove around the city.”
Another surprise for Joshua was a helicopter tour of Los Angeles in LASD's Air Rescue, which has been used to save people’s lives over the years.
“He was so shocked about the scale of things. He was quiet but excited at the same time.”
As Joshua left the Sheriff’s station with some unforgettable memories, deputies with LASD Motorsports wish to deliver same gifts for other youth in the community through their volunteer work.
“We are sworn deputies, but in our off time, we want to give back. We love helping the community – helping anyone who needs support” Armes said. “Racing cars and showing cool equipment of the department is a great tool to get kids interested in what we’re all about.”
Armes said any educational or youth organization can reach out to the organization on its website and social media pages.
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