​On Friday, July 18, 2025, the Champaign County Board of Developmental Disabilities (CCBDD) hosted its annual Touch A Truck event at 224 Patrick Avenue in Urbana. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., families came out to explore a wide variety of vehicles, meet local service workers, and enjoy a fun, interactive day.

Along with the vehicles, guests enjoyed hot dogs, chips, Kona Ice, and had fun with games like Plinko and Pick a Duck, plus temporary tattoos for kids. The event offered something for everyone and gave them the chance to get up close to big trucks, sit behind the wheel, and learn about the people who drive and operate them.

Thanks to everyone who helped to make the event a success, including the following partners and participants:

• Kona Ice
• Urbana Fire Division
• Urbana Police Department
• City of Urbana
• Champaign County Sheriff's Office
• CT Communications
• One World Logistics of America
• V-Teck Communications
• Easton Water Solutions
• Trinity Tire & Auto
• West Central Ohio Network – WestCON
• CORS Head Start
• Edward Jones – Financial Advisor: Jerome Armstrong

​And thank you to the local media for covering the event:

• Urbana Daily Citizen https://www.urbanacitizen.com/2025/06/16/gearing-up-for-fun-touch-a-truck-returns-to-urbana-in-july/

https://www.urbanacitizen.com/2025/07/21/in-the-front-of-a-cruiser/

• Urbana Daily Digital https://urbana.ohiodailydigital.com/news/gearing-up-for-fun-touch-a-truck-returns-to-urbana-this-july

 

• Peak of Ohio https://www.peakofohio.com/local-news/big-rigs-bright-smiles-ccbdd-hosts-annual-touch-a-truck-event

 
📸 Check out more photos from the event on our Facebook page!
(link: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AnD9fymZR/) 

​Did you know that one of the priorities of the Champaign County Board of Developmental Disabilities (CCBDD) is to ensure that individuals with developmental disabilities have the same access to safe, appropriate housing as everyone else? This goal is at the heart of what we do, and we use a variety of strategies to make it happen.

Our Service and Support Administrators, often referred to as case managers, work closely with individuals to help them find housing that meets their needs—whether that’s renting, leasing, or even purchasing a home in the community.

In addition, we partner with a non-profit housing board that helps us purchase, update, and lease homes to individuals with disabilities. Through this partnership, CCBDD not only invests its own funds but also secures grants to make housing more accessible and affordable. These funds allow us to adapt homes to meet a variety of needs.

Currently, we are proud to have 13 homes in Champaign County. These homes will provide individuals served by CCBDD the opportunity to live in comfortable, accessible spaces while paying affordable rent.
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At CCBDD, we believe that housing is more than just a place to live—it’s the foundation for independence, dignity, and community inclusion. We’re committed to making sure everyone has the chance to call a place “home.”

By Superintendent Leigh Anne Wenning

​You may have seen our activities this month celebrating March as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. At the Champaign County Board of Developmental Disabilities (CCBDD), we strive to remind our community that we are all better when we include everyone.

This month we celebrated with a variety of activities, including a trips to our local libraries to participate in themed activities and to share our mission. We also played a game of cards with the Champaign County Young Professionals organization. We also made our annual trip to the Ohio Statehouse to share our stories and thoughts with our representatives. Before going to the statehouse, we made custom awareness ribbons that say “All means All”, “All means All” was the theme of Advocacy Day at the Statehouse. We were able to hand these ribbons out locally and proudly wear them at the event.

National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month began in 1987 with a proclamation from President Reagan to bring awareness and acceptance for people of all abilities. One of our goals at CCBDD is to raise awareness about the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in all aspects of community life.

Developmental disabilities are defined as lifelong disabilities with an onset before the age of 22, resulting in functional limitations. That’s the definition of developmental disability, but the people we serve are so much more than a disability or a diagnosis.

The people we serve have rich, complex lives just like everyone else. They have dreams like living on their own, having a job they love, or owning a pet they have always wanted. And generally, they want the same things that everyone else wants. They want to be treated like valued members of the community. They want to be involved. Or they just want their neighbors to say hello. They want to be seen as an individual and not their disability.

March is almost over, but this can be a reminder for every day of the year. Including everyone makes our communities better.

If you’d like to know more about what the Champaign County Board of Developmental Disabilities does or be involved, please go to our website at www.champaigncbdd.org. Also make sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram. If you’d like to know more about working in the DD field, please call our office at 937-653-5217 and ask for Kirby Keller.

For many people with disabilities, relationships are based on family connections or people who are paid to work with them, like Direct Support Professionals or agency staff members. Their calendars reflect programming, appointments, and errands. This is often the case for people who do not have a lot of family connections.

At the Champaign County Board of Developmental Disabilities (CCBDD), our goal is to help change that by offering a selection of events and activities to individuals with disabilities who we serve. Not only are we trying to reach people with disabilities, but we want to connect with the general community as well. Our Community Education and Outreach Department works diligently to create opportunities where people with and without disabilities can engage and hopefully develop connections that continue even without our presence.

We are grateful that we have a great group of volunteers who coordinate all our Special Olympics programs in Champaign County. In addition to these opportunities, the CCBDD staff continue to create other activities for people with disabilities, including general hobbies and recreation. For example, some activities we offer include a book club, a tech club, a restaurant club, and even a coffee club. We also support individuals we serve with running their own clubs and holding office positions in organizations like Aktion Club and People First of Ohio. One of our goals is to let the people we serve take the lead with these activities and stand back to watch them make natural connections.

Whether you have a disability or not, connecting with your community feels good.

For more information on activities going on at CCBDD, make sure to follow us on social media platforms or give us a call at 937-653-5217.