Aug. 21—A group of local churches, community organizations and businesses are preparing to offer "a day of hope" at the Lake County Fairgrounds on Aug. 26.
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Hope Delivered will include free groceries, clothing, medical screenings, a mobile hygiene unit, a community baby shower and other services, noted organizers Janelle Unger and Amber Strnad. They also plan to offer prayer, testimonies, live entertainment, family activities and job and resource fairs.
"It's just a day of hope for the community, so they can come for fun and entertainment or they can come and partake in any type of resource," Unger said.
The dental and medical screenings will be provided by MedWorks of Cleveland, the Lake County Free Clinic and students from Lakeland Community College, Strnad explained. These groups will offer services including cancer and vitals screenings, and they will connect visitors with community resources as needed.
Homeless Hookup CLE will also bring its mobile hygiene unit to offer showers, she added.
Unger noted that the resource area will feature services related to adoption, foster care, aging, veterans, addictions, pet care and benefit applications. Meanwhile, the job fair will include employers such as Lincoln Electric, Buyers Products and Transfer Express.
Other free resources will include 35,000 pounds of groceries from Convoy of Hope, haircuts and family portraits, the organizers added. Lake County Treasurer Michael Zuren will discuss identity theft and financial literacy, while the county Sheriff's Office will discuss drug awareness.
Unger noted that there are "no strings attached" and that "nobody needs to bring any kind of documentation." Visitors do not need to be Lake County residents.
The organizers also plan to offer a prayer tent. Meanwhile, "testimonies of hope" will be provided by Ride4Life, which Unger described as a "motorcycle stunt group."
"They do about a 20-minute stunt show, then they just talk about where they came from," she said. "The gentleman that founded the Ride4Life actually was an addict and was incarcerated."
Hope Delivered will also include live music, a performance from the Deepwood Dancers, a hot meal and a family fun zone, Unger said.
Strnad noted that nearly 30 churches are contributing to the event, providing an "enormous backing" that includes volunteers and donations.
"A lot of the churches in the area, they offer support groups," Unger added. "They offer recovery groups. They offer grief counseling and that kind of thing."