March 6, 2015 at 3:00 p.m.
First Community Resource Fair draws positive reviews
First Community Resource Fair draws positive reviews
By Kayla Thomason-
The goal of the event was to get the word out to the public about the resources available to them in the community.
"I think (the fair) is a fabulous idea to get all of the different resources in one spot, to be able to have someone come in and take a chance to see what's all out there and see what they might be able to utilize," said Tammy Modic, executive director of the Northwoods Alliance for Temporary Housing (NATH).
As a vendor, Modic educated attendees about homelessness and volunteer opportunities at NATH.
Ginger Chrobak, treasurer of the Rhinelander Area Food Pantry, also had a booth.
"I hope more people come," Chrobak said. "I think it's wonderful. The people that are working here have found out things that they can use and if the volunteers here with the displays are finding out information there is so much here that I hope more people come. It's a really good thing to have."
She invited people to the new food pantry building and informed them about RAFP's programs.
The event was informative experience for visitors as well.
"(The Rhinelander Community Resource Fair is) terrific, we need a lot more of them," said attendee Joel Knutson. "This is the sort of thing I'd like to see happen on at least a quarterly basis."
He was pleased the event was held at a school and had several ideas as to where and when the next fair could be held.
"It's great that we have them in the schools," Knutson said. "It could rotate between towns and be at different town halls because access is always tricky. I think if you held it in the summer you'd get a lot of different camps like Camp Fire Girls and Scouting."
Knutson said he learned more about Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Personal Essentials Pantry while visiting booths.
"There's so much positive energy going on in this town, it doesn't always get the billing it deserves," he said.
Brittany Bex was pleased to see the variety of services available in the Northwoods.
"I think it's awesome because when we found out our kids were special needs we had no idea (what was available)," she said. "So having resources available in one area is amazing."
"If you can't make it to one of these events definitely seek out the resources you need to help your family," she added.
Pearl Thompson, volunteer parent leader with WI Facets and one of the event organizers, came up with the idea out of personal experience. She relocated to Rhinelander from out of state and understands what it is like to not know what services are available.
"Families that might have different situations can come and meet the faces behind the agencies," Thompson said. "If you come to the fair you actually get to meet the people that work there and volunteer there and it might help families be a little more at ease when they contact these agencies. If the turnout is good and the feedback is positive I'd like to keep this annually."
Children who attended the fair received free gift bags with hand sanitizer, bookmarks and candy.
Free health screenings were also available.
Some of the other vendors in attendance were the Northern Regional Center for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs, Child Find, Wisconsin Family Ties, MHS Health Wisconsin, Family Voices and the Special Olympics for both adults and children.
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
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