LYNWOOD — Imelda Rodriguez, Blanca Mendoza, Juanita Uribe, Maria Martinez and Carmen Colin will be crowned champions on Feb. 28 when the city of Lynwood observes its first Special Needs Children’s Day.

The five mothers are getting ready to recognize the city’s special needs children and adults with a luncheon at Bateman Hall.

With discretionary funds of $2,000 approved by a 5-0 City Council vote — barely enough to cover catering — the event is being made possible through contributions from local businesses, which are donating funds or toys for the event.

According to Rodriguez, the mother of an autistic 8 year old, there are more than 800 families in Lynwood with children with special needs.

Two years ago, she said, children with special needs —known as the Special Angels of Lynwood — rode on a float in the city’s Christmas Candy Lane Parade.

“It was such a wonderful experience for our children to be a part of that parade, to be allowed to participate, that we realized we wanted our children to be able to participate in further city events,” she said.

Rodriguez said that she has never seen or heard of an event that celebrates children or adults with special needs.

So far, there are 200 people registered to attend the event. Rodriguez and her group of moms seeks to register 350 people. The last day to register is Monday, so event organizers can have an accurate count of how many lunches should be served, and the names and ages of the children attending so that they may receive recognition.

“There’s been so much support for this event, it’s overwhelming,” Rodriguez said. “This is a noble cause, we’re not doing this for ourselves, we’re doing it for children with special needs, to let them know that they matter to us, to let them know that they count and that they are an important part of this community.”

“The number of families with children with special needs in the community is a big number,” Mayor Maria Santillan said. “I don’t think any of us realized how big that number was.”

Along with the council’s resolution to make the fourth Sunday of every February Children With Special Needs Day and $2,000 in discretionary funds for the event, the council also voted to waive the fees for the use of Bateman Hall, which also may require some staff time.

Parents who have children with special needs, don’t have many outlets for their children. A lot of the children are kept at home, some for safety reasons, and some because families are embarrassed of their children.

“These moms want to change that and they should be proud of themselves for speaking up for their children, because they’re not just giving their children a voice, they’re giving the children of these 800 families a voice,” Santillan said. “Parents of children with special needs have 24-hour-a-day jobs, and they should be commended for their efforts.”

Colin, the grandmother of a child with special needs, said that she is happy to be a part of the movement.

“Children and adults with special needs deserve to be recognized and honored, and given a day just for them,” Colin said. “This will be their day so that they can be happy and so they can see that they matter in our community.”

The response the group of mothers and their efforts have received has been astonishing, Colin said.

“When we first started talking about how wonderful an event like this would be, we had no idea we could actually make it happen,” she said. “Nor, did we think so many people would be coming forward to help make it happen.”

Along with entertainment, gift cards, drawings, clowns, toys for children, circus dog acts and a buffet, the event, said Rodriguez, is also aimed at uniting the community.

“Disabilities and special needs are more than a wheelchair,” she said. “These are our children whom we’ve raised, whom are still going to grow up to succeed and vote in our communities. … After all these years, for our community to step up and join us in showing our children and our adults with special needs that they count, it touches my heart. I can’t believe it.”

The City Council is expected to present a proclamation to the five mothers during the Feb. 28 event — set to take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. And they have been nominated for Assemblyman Hector De La Torre’s Women of the Year honor.

“Unless you have a child with special needs or disabilities, then you don’t understand what these parents go through,” Mayor Pro Tem Aide Castro said.

It was Castro who suggested the city should grant the parent group $2,000 in discretionary funds for the event. The money will pay for the food, although the caterer also is donating some services.

“People are always going to criticize me for anything that I do. It’s OK, it doesn’t bother me. I know that this event is worthy. We celebrate Easter, we celebrate Cinco de Mayo, Fourth of July and we celebrate Black History Month and Christmas. Why can’t we celebrate Children With Special Needs Day?”

The mothers have been really good about seeking sponsorship for this event, Castro said. “They are the ones who came up with the idea. This is not about me, this is not my event.

“There’s no better way for the city to give back to the community than through an event like this,” she said. “We were told there are 800 families in Lynwood with children with special needs, and that’s not even counting the adults in our community with special needs.”