Lorain County Resource Fair is March 12

Summer is just around the corner and families are looking for programs, camps and adaptive sports for their loved one with special needs or concerns.

This year the Lorain County Resource Fair will have the largest number of vendors to date — more than 80 exhibitors — offering many options for local families, according to a news release.

Connecting for Kids again will team with Leadership Lorain County to present the Lorain County Resource Fair from 6 to 8 p.m., March 12, at the John A. Spitzer Conference Center at Lorain County Community College, 1005 N. Abbe Road in Elyria.

At the 2020 event, families will find resources for anxiety, ADHD, communication/speech issues, behavior problems, IEP support and social skills deficits for individuals ages birth to 22 years, according to the release.

Those who pre-register and attend will be entered into a drawing to win a $100 VISA gift card, the release said.

To register, visit www. connectingforkids.org/lorain-resource-fair, or call/ text: 440-570-5908 (para español, 440-907-9130).

Back by popular demand is a free shuttle service, a free pasta dinner and onsite Spanish translation, according to the release.

The Lorain County Resource Fair serves as the kick-off event for the new Connecting for Kids Spanish Initiative.

“Our new Spanish speaking Family Resource Specialist, Andrea Campesino, will be available at the event to assist those in the Hispanic community find resources and serve as a translator with vendors,” said Sarah Rintamaki, executive director of Connecting for Kids. “Andrea is eager to meet area families as she will be hosting our first support group entirely in Spanish the evening of March 26 at the Elyria Public Library.”

All families attending the Lorain County Resource Fair can meet with providers from across Northeast Ohio, including:

• Adapted recreation programs and camps

• Alternative schools

• Counselors and mental health providers

• Educational advocates

• Grant/financial aid providers

• Music therapy programs

• Occupational and physical therapists

• Respite providers

• Speech-language pathologists

• Social skills programs

• Transition, job training and housing providers

• Tutors and learning disability programs

“We at Leadership Lorain County are so extremely excited regarding this collaboration with Connecting for Kids,” said Julie Cruz Blair, executive director of Leadership Lorain County. “While it was the ‘Best Class of 2015’ who initially brought the Special Needs Resource to Lorain County, it has definitely been through the efforts of Connecting for Kids that it has been taken to the next level.

“We are happy to partner as it continues to grow.

The alliance of resources in one location has certainly impacted many in our community, together we are all creating positive change.”

The free shuttle bus, compliments of Ready Set Go…to Kindergarten, will offer stops at Wilkes Villa and Colonial Oaks, both in Elyria, and Westview Terrace and Leavitt Homes, both in Lorain.

Platinum sponsors of the event include Galvin Therapy Center, Hickman & Lowder Co., L.P.A., Lorain County Community College, Murray Ridge Center, Ready, Set, Go...to Kindergarten! And Spectrum Resource Center & School.