What was intended to be a one- or two-off thing has become an annual event after vendors asked to keep returning.
The Sources of Strength Wellness Fair, organized through Lebanon Community School District’s Welcome Center in partnership with several other organizations, held its fourth annual event on May 28 at Pioneer Elementary School.
Churches, nonprofits and health facilities manned booths to provide information, while food vendors offered hot dogs, hamburgers and ice cream. A handful of outdoor games were available for children to play with, and the Scalawags Robotic Team used their shirt cannon to shoot T-shirts for a crowd of kids.
Some kids got their faces painted and others walked around wearing balloon hats. Music and bubbles floated through the air, and Northwest Skateland showcased their business venture with a mobile roller rink.
According to Jill Miller, community liaison at the district’s Welcome Center, this year’s event was the biggest one they’ve had so far, with more than 70 vendors participating, as well as food, entertainment and prizes.
“We thought maybe we’d just do it a year or two and pass it off, (but now) it will be going after we retire,” she said.
Miller and Sandi Cox, the school district’s mental health coordinator, said the community embraced what they were doing, so they just kept going.
“We continue to do this because our vendors and all the people here love it so much and are willing to support it,” Cox said.
Miller said it was due to sponsors that they were able to provide T-shirts, music, face painting, balloons, a photo booth, prizes, and food and ice cream for free.
The district’s Welcome Center initiated the Wellness Fair four years ago while everyone was transitioning back to life after COVID, Cox said. It was a time when they realized many families probably needed help connecting with resources to help with whatever they experienced during the pandemic.
“We just wanted to let them know that, hey, we actually do have a lot of resources in our community, so it was really just about connecting them with those resources,” she said.
The fair centers around the Sources of Strength model, which focuses on building resiliency through eight factors: mental health, generosity, family support, mentors, physical health, spirituality, and healthy activities.
Every vendor at the event represents one of those eight factors, Cox said.
“It’s really about helping people lean into their strengths and learn that they have things to be able to help themselves and, if they need help, there’s a whole bunch of people here willing to help you along the way with that,” she said.
