What is Footprints Center for Autism?

Footprints Center for Autism is a Northeast Ohio nonprofit, founded in 2017 by Erin Bolyard and Nicole Best. FCA provides comprehensive, collaborative, and child-centered programming for children with autism in a positive, non-restrictive learning environment. The organization is an Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Autism Scholarship Provider and a Jon Peterson Special Needs Scholarship Provider, and serves children whose needs are best met through individualized programs built by a team of teachers, therapists, and parents.

Adventure Subaru, a family-owned Subaru retailer in Painesville, Ohio, has been a Footprints community partner since 2022, when FCA was selected as our hometown charity for the Subaru Share the Love Event. The partnership has continued every year since, with presenting sponsorship of FCA's annual Blue Carpet Affair and participation in the Inclusive Trunk-or-Treat.

A learning environment built around each child

FCA's approach begins with a simple recognition: autism is a spectrum, and the most effective programming has to be built around the individual child. Here's how that works in practice - and why families across Northeast Ohio have made the drive.

The mission

FCA's mission is to provide comprehensive, collaborative, and child-centered programming for individuals with autism in a positive and non-restrictive learning environment, so that each child can reach their highest potential and achieve excellence in all aspects of life. The vision extends beyond the classroom: FCA envisions a world where all people with autism have the resources to live up to their fullest potential across every setting - school, home, and community.

How individualized programming works

Because autism is a spectrum, FCA builds a unique program for each child it serves. A team of teachers, therapists, and the child's family designs the program together, specifically to meet the child's needs and maximize their opportunity for success. This collaborative, comprehensive, and child-centered approach is written directly into FCA's mission statement - not as marketing language, but as a working method.

FCA also recognizes the importance of family involvement, and encourages frequent collaboration with families and caretakers to ensure consistency of intervention across all settings. Seminars, observations, and family meetings bridge the gap between school and home - because treating the whole child means supporting them in every part of their world.

How FCA started

Both founders are native to Northeast Ohio, and each brought years of experience in autism services, nonprofit work, and business management. They chose FCA's location deliberately, to serve communities and counties with limited resources for children with autism and their families. FCA opened its doors to its first four students in September 2018 and has grown steadily since. Its two state scholarship designations mean qualifying families can apply state scholarship funds directly toward FCA's programming.

How to support Footprints

If FCA's work resonates with you, there are two ways to help - one that goes directly to Footprints, and one that goes through the partnership we've built together.

Support FCA directly

Donations, volunteer inquiries, and questions about enrolling a child all start at Footprints' own site. They run the programs, they know the families, and they're the right first stop.

footprintscenterforautism.com/donate/

Support FCA through Adventure Subaru

Attend events we sponsor with FCA - the Blue Carpet Affair and the Inclusive Trunk-or-Treat. Follow Adventure Subaru on social media for activations throughout the year. And during the annual Subaru Share the Love Event each holiday season, your vehicle purchase can direct funds to a hometown charity - past Share the Love beneficiaries have included FCA itself.

community@440asubaru.com for questions about our community work or how to get involved.