The Brightside Project Launch

Children in Columbiana County and surrounding communities in Northeast Ohio are living in homes with meth labs. They are in homes where guns lie in the open. They have parents who use and sell drugs (See our recent blog post about drugs in Northeast Ohio.) They often go to school hungry. These children did not choose their life, and they have little control over their future.

Scott Lewis , our founder, started a nonprofit through a church 12 years ago to help give hope. In April 2015 he decided it was time to step down as director. He knew it was time to go down a new path. Even though it’s a new path, it’s the same cause—helping children in our community.

We are thrilled to announce the launch of a new nonprofit called The Brightside Project . And we need you.

The goal of The Brightside Project is to reach out to children through a mobile unit. We will start in Columbiana County. Did you know that 27.2 percent of children in Columbiana County live in poverty? (The statewide average is 23.9 percent, and nationwide it’s 22.5 percent. See more statistics. ) We will work with schools, the Children’s Coalition, and other organizations to determine what children need food assistance, personal care items, and a caring, compassionate adult to come alongside them.

The mobile unit will regularly pull into these children’s schools, neighborhoods, and parks full of loving volunteers who care for them and want to listen to them. We will distribute the basic needs they need and we will mentor them. Most importantly, we want our children to know that there are adults who care and who will equip and empower them to reach their full potential.

We are looking forward to our involvement in the community and making a difference in the lives of children through The Brightside Project. Will you join us? Will you help us raise $100,000 by Christmas to launch our first mobile unit into the community in early 2017? We will use the money to purchase supplies and a mobile unit much like the one you see below as well as administrative startup costs (office space and staffing). Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for helping us be the Brightside in Northeast Ohio!


This is our vision for the mobile unit you're helping to make a possibility!