First Community Connections Event Sunday on Lynnfield Common

Coming up this Sunday afternoon from 1 to 4 p.m., the first Community Connections event on the Lynnfield Common will help raise funds for extracurricular activities for the town’s special needs children.

Event Chair Julie Perrin told Lynnfield Patch this week in a phone conversation that the event will feature numerous carnival-style games such as truck toss, duck hunt, Kick and Score, and much more. A DJ will provide musical entertainment and there will also be demos from Cervizzi’s Martial Arts and Flipps and Giggles Gymnastics. Other activities will include an air track, face painting, a balloon artist, raffles, and a silent auction.  A sensory area will be available as well.

The Common will feature blue lights in observation of Autism Awareness Month – although Perrin notes that this event is to benefit all children with special needs.

Proceeds from the event will help fund activities for the kids that could include movie nights, arts and crafts, music therapy, an open gym night, bowling, and other outings, said Perrin, who estimated that approximately 10 to 12 percent of Lynnfield Students are on IEP’s or 504’s.  The parents have already established a Challenger baseball team for boys and girls that will start later in the spring, she added.

Perrin said that all members of the community are invited to attend – and to bring some friends and family.

“We wanted to have a community connections event to raise awareness about our children and families,” said Perrin. “Just love these children for who they are!”

The event is rain or shine – if it rains, it will be held in the Lynnfield Middle School gym.

The event was planned a committee of eight members, and Perrin noted that donations were provided by a sizeable list of local businesses – including the Lynnfield Rotary, the Village Pharmacy, Kelly’s Roast Beef, the Rich Sjoberg Security Company, the Ninety-Nine, Sarni Dry Cleaners, Kayem, MarketStreet Lynnfield, the Peabody/Lynnfield YMCA, Sarni Dry Cleaners, Rep. Brad Jones, and professional organizer Susan Parziale.

Those who would like to make a donation to help fund extracurricular activities for the town’s special needs children can send a check to Lynnfield SEPAC at the Lynnfield Special Services Office, 525 Salem Street, Lynnfield, MA 01940.