FLORENCE, Ky. — Community members are rallying together to uplift a boy with cerebral palsy and his mother by hosting a craft show and silent auction. 

Katie Wells said anyone who meets Elijah will instantly fall in love with him. Wells is a service coordinator who met Elijah and his mother, Colleen Sullivan, a few years ago. She connected them to government resources to help provide care for Elijah, who has cerebral palsy.

"He's just one that I knew from the time that I started working with him when he was 4 or 5 months old, that I just knew he was going to be part of my life for the rest of my life," Wells said. 

Forming a close relationship with the family, Wells knew they needed a modified van with an electric ramp to transport Elijah. She also knew she needed help from others to make that possible.

She posted her idea on Facebook and created a link to an application vendors and volunteers could fill out.

From there, she received more than a dozen applications from vendors wanting to donate their time and items. Some vendors came as far as two hours to help.

"Taking care of kids is hard, whether they don't have any disabilities or do," said volunteer Lynette Gullett. "There's that old saying, 'It takes a village to raise a child,' and it really, really does.”

Sullivan said she was overwhelmed by the community's support. 

In Kentucky, an Admissions and Release Committee (ARC) may determine whether a student qualifies for special education, but there isn't much to help parents with outside transportation.