FITNESS ON WHEELS

by Kaelin O'Connell, The Gloucester County Times

The Fun Bus brings children's entertainment directly to customers

When Gloucester County couple Gina and John Geraci of West Deptford had enough of corporate America, they hunted for a business opportunity that would get them far away from office life. What they found was the Fun Bus -- which is about as far as it gets.

The Fun Bus is a children's fitness center wrapped in a bright green school bus. The Geracis park the Fun Bus outside schools, day cares and birthday parties, then load the children on to play games and exercise. In place of seats, the Fun Bus is outfitted with colorful mats, swings and tunnels. And a selection of 1,400 songs cycle through its iPod, anything from Hannah Montana to the Wiggles.

The idea behind the franchise, which was originally started in North Jersey, is to bring children's entertainment directly to customers. As parents to 3-year-old John and small business owners, the Geracis found the concept appealing.

"We just decided we wanted to be in business for ourselves," said Gina, who drives the bus and leads the classes. "I couldn't picture myself driving a bus, and now that I'm doing it, it's so much fun."

The Fun Bus usually does three or four birthday parties a week and, on a good day, can visit five schools (at $295 an hour). The Geracis save fuel by planning jobs in the same area for the same day.

Theirs is the 16th franchise of the Fun Bus business, which was started by a mother-daughter team in North Jersey. The Geracis do almost all their events in Gloucester County, where they are still working to spread word of the business.

"Brand recognition is the biggest thing we've had a problem with," John said. "When you say 'Fun Bus' people say, 'Oh, you're going to drive me to Atlantic City.' "

The Geracis bought their franchise right before the economy turned, and John said lining up jobs has become tougher as a result. But some clients -- like schools and day cares -- have actually enlisted the Fun Bus as an affordable alternative to other entertainment.

"We usually go out on field trips, but because of the economy we said it would be cheaper to bring people to us," said Patricia Farrell, the director at Grow N' Learn in West Deptford. The Fun Bus has been a regular at Grow N' Learn since Farrell's mother Patricia Lind, the owner, saw the franchise on "John and Kate Plus 8."

On a recent afternoon, the Fun Bus pulled up to Grow N' Learn, then loaded 15 kids, ages 3 to 7, inside (the keys are always removed and an air conditioner runs on a generator). Kids first sat in a circle to "wake up the bus" with kicks and songs, and for the next hour they went through obstacle courses, swung on a rope while singing "George of the Jungle" and then slid out the back.

"They love it and the parents love it," Farrell said. "They kept asking 'When's the Fun Bus coming back again?' "