Submitted photo
The Fairhaven Foundation hosted an Ability, Walk and Roll event in August at Eastwood Field in Niles that welcomed families of those individuals served by boards of developmental disabilities from Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties. The foundation has serviced Trumbull since the late 1990s and is expanding into Columbiana and Mahoning counties with services and programs. From left are Stephanie Champlin, executive director of the Fairhaven Foundation; Kimberly Hauck, director of the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities; Edward Stark, superintendent of the Trumbull County Board of Developmental Disabilities; Josh Martin, assistant superintendent of the Columbiana County BDD; Bill Devon, superintendent of the Columbiana County BDD; William Whitacre, superintendent of the Mahoning County BDD; and John Vennetti, superintendent of the Portage County BDD.

NILES — The Fairhaven Foundation, which has provided various services, programs and events for individuals served by the Trumbull County Board of Developmental Disabilities, is expanding into Mahoning and Columbiana counties.

Stephanie Champlin, director of the foundation, said the Ability Rock and Roll event started in 2022 with collaboration among the three county boards of developmental disabilities.

“It was a tri-county event, which was very successful. That was the start of collaboration for the foundation. Trumbull County has been very fortunate to have the foundation since 1997. The other two counties did not have a foundation that helps to support the individuals served through county boards. The foundation helps provide things that are difficult for a county board to provide support for such as adaptive equipment or adaptive clothing not covered by insurance or a waiver. These items are very expensive for the families so the foundation steps in to assist,” Champlin said.

The foundation works in collaboration with the county board of developmental disabilities.

Champlin said when she started with the foundation in May 2021, she asked what the signature event was and she suggested there needed to be an event to show the community what the foundation does and allow the community to partner.

Soon the Ability Rock and Roll event was established and helped at the Scrappers Field in Niles.

Next, conversations took place with officials in Columbiana and Mahoning boards of developmental disabilities asking if they wanted to have a partnership.

“I am of the mindset that we are better together. As county boards, they all have a shared mission that is directly in alignment with the Fairhaven Foundation,” Champlin said.

An agreement with the three counties is in place with an operations manager for the foundation to be hired to help expand the foundation’s efforts and work on grant writing, fundraising and event planning and outreach efforts. The positions will be covered by the three counties equally.

Plans also are to expand the foundation board to include members from each county and also parents of lived experience with a child or family member to serve on the board from each county.

The board has seven members now.

Champlin said Trumbull serves approximately 1,200 individuals and will add more clients from Columbiana and Mahoning.

“By the foundation expanding we are able to provide more opportunities for those served by county boards where previously the foundation was only for Trumbull County,” she said.

The homesite for the foundation is in Niles.

She said the expansion started in 2024 by having individuals from all three counties attending events such as Winter Wonderland in December which grew from 600 to 1,400 in attendance.

Plans are to host events and programs in all three counties as previously most were in Trumbull.

“The intent is to create the most opportunities for those we serve. This opens doors for families in other counties who previously did not have this type of support. In addition to events, we also are going out into the community and educating on inclusive efforts and making sure space is accessible at events and locations and people can get into a venue space safely. The goal is to maximize the impact that we can have,” Champlin said.

She said the foundation partnering with each county board is unique.

“There are not that many foundations that exist that partner with their county boards and certainly not one that covers multiple counties,” Champlin said.

Kimberly Hauck, director of Ohio’s Department of Developmental Disabilities, attended the Ability Rock and Roll last summer and had praises for the foundation’s work for including individuals of all abilities not specific to one diagnosis and for the multi-county collaboration.

WHAT SUPERINTENDENTS THINK

Superintendents of the boards of DD from each county support the collaboration and the benefits.

Ed Stark, superintendent of the Trumbull County Board of Developmental Disabilities, said he is excited to have the opportunity to expand and include two more counties.

“This is a wonderful opportunity. The collaboration at past events has been successful. This will allow the foundation to provide more opportunities and for families from three counties to interact with one another,” Stark said.

He said the foundation’s expansion into Columbiana and Mahoning counties also allows for more collaboration with more businesses in the Mahoning Valley.

Bill Devon, superintendent of the Columbiana County Board of Developmental Disabilities, said the three counties working and interacting more together can accomplish so much more than being on their own.

“The foundation is able to help improve the lives of people with different disabilities. Trumbull and Mahoning counties have a lot more resources than we do. We have good things here, but working together and interacting more can only help benefit people in all three counties. More opportunities will help add more flavor to people’s lives,” Devon said.

“We have discussed the idea of the foundation expanding into the three counties for the past three to four years. Now it is happening. By putting all three counties together we become major players,” Devon said.

He said he can see busloads of people from Columbiana traveling to Trumbull and Mahoning for foundation-organized events.

“The foundation allows individuals to have experiences that they would otherwise not have had the opportunity. The bottom line is being able to provide people with disabilities with various opportunities,” Devon said.

He said Champlin has done so much, noting she served on Columbiana’s board before her job with the foundation.

Bill Whitacre, superintendent of the Mahoning County Board of Developmental Disabilities, said the three county boards have been working together and attending many of the same events and programs for the past four years.

“It makes sense to come together. This really provides opportunities for families we serve to meet one another more,” Whitacre said.