There has always been a need for services in Douglas Co. so my friend and I decided it was time to put together our own fair.
We chose Saturday, October 13, 2012 as our date and started planning. I made contacts with a lot of providers in the area, put some classes together, made fliers, emailed, FaceBooked, etc. and our first ever Special Needs Resource Fair, sponsored by Ga. Therapy Moms was quite a success!
We had a good group of vendors, about 20, that each had a table. We also had 4 classes that parents could attend:
Special Needs Trusts: David Pollan, attorney
IEPs: Dawn Clarke, former special ed teacher
Autism 101: Jenna Jones, mom
Coping skills for parents: Cameron Mount, psychologist
We learned quite a bit:
don't host your resource fair the same weekend that school is out for a fall break
don't try and sell goodies or beverages, no one really buys them
make sure vendors have a table
perhaps play some background music
get your flyer OK'd by the school district ahead of time so info can be sent to parents
After all was said and done, we were quite pleased with our efforts and the vendors/providers also were happy to have met other providers in the area.
Here are some photos of our vendors:
Walgreens brought bags to give out
Pool Hoppers
teach kids w/special needs how to swim
ClearWater Academy
Clearly Speaking
G.O.R.
Parent to Parent of Georgia
Haven Hills
therapeutic riding
Day Care that takes kids with special needs
Soccer Club
Douglas Co. Schools Parent mentor
Special Needs Attorney
The ARC of Douglas Co.
Next fair: Saturday, May 4th!
