Family Support Group

Who’s Invited:
parents | caregivers | those with disabilities | siblings
Parents & Caregivers – come to network, meet people like you, share ideas, and learn about resources
Children with ISPs and/or IEPs, anyone served by MCBDD, and siblings – join us for fun activities in a group setting.

When is it?
2nd Thursday of each month at 6 p.m. at the Explore-It-Torium, 244 S Main St, Marion, OH 43302.

The Support Group is brought to you through a grant from the Marion Community Foundation.

Please RSVP
To learn more or to join, contact Nikki Workman at nworkman@marioncountydd.org

DECEMBER PROGRAM:

December 8th is our next parent-led Family Support Group! Come and check it out. Those served and their siblings will have the choice to do an art project or visit the teen/adult room while parents share, connect, and hear from other parents.

Join Us
On December 8th, join us for Karam’s Little Leaders with Black Belt Bruce
Black Belt Bruce is a fun and engaging program designed to teach young children to become leaders, using a combination of short plug and play videos, workbooks and a proven reward system.

There isn’t another program out there like the “Karam’s Little Leaders” program that will successfully develop your child into a confident, caring, and respectful adult. The “Karam’s Little Leader” program is designed to take not only the children through this development, but the whole family. These necessary skills are NOT taught in most public, private, or charter school.

We have been teaching these weekly skills and techniques since 1975 as an integral part of our martial arts curriculum. This curriculum has helped literally 1,000’s of students.
The curriculum took a leap forward when Audra and Matthew Karam joined in 2000 and provide more than 50 years of combined experience working with kids and leadership development. They brought with them the most modern research techniques for teaching children and child development. The Program aligns a specific life skill with each month to allow the children to focus their learning and obtain results in the shortest amount of time.
The Program has decades of transformational learning.

The curriculum design is so very important because it ensures that ALL children receive the same education with a well-balanced, engineered learning system.

AUDRA KARAM, BA, CLS
Audra has a bachelor’s degree in Child Development & Family Ecology, with a minor in Psychology, and a specialization in Child Life.
While developing the Life Skills curriculum at their martial arts school, Audra also worked with many school districts teaching elementary students how to stand up for themselves against the dangers of alcohol, tobacco and drugs.

MATT KARAM, BA
3RD DEGREE BLACK BELT
Matt is the creator, visionary and producer of Black Belt Bruce. He has a driving passion to help children become the very best version of themselves. The “Karam’s Little Leaders” program is one of his proudest accomplishments.
He has been studying the discipline of Martial Arts since the age of 5. It all started when his father began teaching in their family garage and Matt eventually went on to become a 3rd Degree Black Belt. He opened his very own school at the age of 18, and opened several more shortly after. The primary goal was always to carry on the family mission that his father started in 1975.
He has operated many businesses and has been a lifetime entrepreneur. If you ever meet him, you will learn very quickly that no matter what he is involved in, he works tirelessly to improve upon its current level.
He graduated with a Bachelors in Finance with a minor in Real Estate.

DAVID R. MONTGOMERY
David graduated from the University of Akron in 1986 with a B.S. in Business Administration. He began his career with a Pension / Actuarial Consulting Firm, later moving into the Medical Professional Liability Insurance business in 1993 in Cleveland, Ohio.
It was during his time, working in the “Med Mal” world that he met Matt Karam and developed a 20 plus year friendship. David still manages some Medical Professional Liability Insurance, but has shifted the majority of his time to the growth of Karam’s Little Leaders with Black Belt Bruce. David joined Karam’s Little Leaders with Black Belt Bruce in the summer of 2022. It was a fulfillment of a desire to be part of an organization that was focused on impacting kids for the better. There is a movie that David considered life changing for him – called Mully. Black Belt Bruce became David’s Mully opportunity and to join Matt and Audra to Build Confident Kids through Character Development.

RSVPs are helpful for planning and are appreciated. Contact Nikki Workman at nworkman@marioncountydd.org