In March, Lake County’s Deepwood Dancers are set to compete in the 2019 Special Olympic Games in Abu Dhabi—with a little help from Northeast Ohioans. The trip is being made possible entirely via donations, and they're currently running a GoFundMe fundraising campaign to make it happen.

A dance group that brings awareness to cognitive and developmental disabilities, the Deepwood Dancers are comprised of eight people ages 16 to 61. The group got its start as part of a recreation activity supported by Lake County Special Olympics, and they've been performing around Northeast Ohio ever since.

In 2017, some of the members performed at the Special Olympics World Games in Austria, which prompted them to submit an audition video for the 2019 installment. After two months of waiting, the Deepwood Dancers received word that they were indeed invited to the 2019 Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi, which will take place March 14-21, 2019.

Now they just need to get there. So far, they've raised about 20 percent of the $30,000 goal (with $2,000 raised in the first 24 hours), and if the target goal isn’t reached, all grants will go toward future events/projects for the Deepwood Dancers.

To raise additional funds and awareness, the dancers will perform and host a fundraising lunch at the Stadium Grill in Mentor on February 3 from 1 to 4 p.m., along with a performance at Millard Presidential Library in Cleveland on February 10 from 3 to 7 p.m.

To make a donation and learn more about the dancers themselves, click here.

See the Deepwood Dancers do their thing: