Neighborhood House on Wall Street in Auburn provides a safe, caring environment for children that take part in the facility's day care programs.

To help ensure that the Neighborhood House can keep providing the best possible care, the facility hosted its eighth-annual children's carnival fundraiser Friday afternoon.

"We work on a very tight budget," director Sue Jones said. "So we decided that we needed to organize a fundraiser, something that would get the whole community involved and be for the children."

Jones said that the carnival began relatively small its first year, but year after year has grown to include more and more attractions and get more and more people involved.

"We are so grateful," Jones said. "We get a lot of support from the community and the parents and so many people work to help us put this together and we are so grateful for all that help and support."

This year, alongside the rummage sale and car wash, there were a number of carnival attractions, from ball toss baseball games to a hockey booth hosted by the Auburn Ice Hawks youth hockey program to a cake booth and face painting.

Jones said that this year the Neighborhood House's new neighbor, Bear Bones Barbecue, donated pulled pork and other food items for sale.

The Cayuga County Sheriff's Office was also on hand with Operation Safe Child, which provides free digital identification of children for parents.

An attraction that is close to the Neighborhood House.

"Each year we try to add a new feature," Jones said. "This year that is our new feature. We think it is great they are here and providing these IDs for parents and their children."

Jones said that in addition to the number of community organizations that make this possible, it is also the staff, who even after working all day gave their time to make sure the carnival was run smoothly.

"I just think this is a wonderful opportunity for the community to see what we are all about," Linda Cook, a staff member, said. "We have a great place here and we are proud of that and all of us on the staff are glad to help out to be able to show that to the community."

With eight years of history, the carnival has become a summer tradition for the children that live in the Wall Street neighborhood.

Brooke Hotaling, 10, and her friend Alyssa Barnes, 13, both live across the street from the center and make a point of going every year.

"It is just a good place to hang out," Hotaling said. "You get to hang out and play games and have fun with your friends."

Barnes said that when she was younger she came every year and it is a tradition she is passing on to her younger brother.

"It is still fun to come here," Barnes said. "This year I brought my little brother Brandon. It is fun to be able to watch the little kids have fun."

The carnival, with all its games and the huge inflatable bouncy room, also brought out a lot of parents and their children who have attended the Neighborhood House.

Denise Cornelius brought her son Konnor, 4, who just completed the center's pre-K program.

Cornelius said her son has been coming to the center since he was six months old and that he has always received the best care and attention possible and she was happy to be able to lend some support back to the Neighborhood House.

"I think it is a wonderful place," Cornelius said. "They've always taken great care of him, it is a very clean facility and the teachers and staff are all wonderful. We come to this ever year; he always has a lot of fun."

And Konnor was definitely eager to get down to some serious play.

"It's a lot of fun," Konnor said. "I like the games and the big bouncy room."

Jones said all the funds raised were designated to go right back to the students.

"What we raise will go into buying supplies and equipment for our playground," Jones said. "Every year we use what we raise to go into providing the best for the children."