The Resource Center in Orrville is asking for donations to help purchase equipment for a new health program dedicated to allowing students to interact more and learn motor skills and coordination.

The center is a place for young adults with disabilities to gather together for fun, learning and enrichment, as well as a meal.

Karen Pettaway, founder and director, said she started the center to provide people with disabilities, like her son, a place to go and learn and feel included.

“It means so much to me because I have a son [with disabilities],” Pettaway said. “I don’t like them just sitting at home. They need a place to go.”

The center opened in October of 2017 and is open Monday through Thursday.

“I have a son with disabilities and so there was no place … for him. The Lord gave me this vision three years before he came out of high school,” Pettaway said. “So, when he came out of high school, a couple years after that we were ready to open.”

The students get to participate in activities like arts and crafts and reading and Writing. They also learn basic life skills.

“It’s a center where they can come and interact with their peers,” Pettaway said. “It’s a place for everybody. Any young adult or adult with a disability, they can come there and feel at home.”

The money being raised will go toward buying equipment for the students. Pettaway is raising the money through Red Basket, a web-based nonprofit 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to helping individuals raise money for personal emergencies and community improvement projects in a fee-free environment, according to a press release from the company.

Red Basket is fully supported by WoodmenLife which covers Red Basket’s administrative costs in their entirety so 100 percent of donations are directly passed through to the cause. Pettaway said the center means a lot to her and the students that attend.

“It means a lot because they need a place to call their own,” she said.

“With them coming there, they’re able to be surrounded by their peers and also they form friendships. They look out for each other. It means a lot to me just to know they can get up in the morning and have a purpose to get up and go somewhere.”

The fundraiser will be open for donations through May 23. To make a tax-deductible donation to help students, visit https://redbasket.org/1642/the-resource-center-reaching-new-heights.