Brightside receives $25K grant

SALEM -- Due to a $25,000 Hometown Assist Grant from State Farm, and the generosity of an anonymous donor, The Brightside Project will be able to acquire the Sunshine Bus they have dreamed about for years.

"There are no words to describe what this means to me. This was our original vision. For the people to vote for us and stand behind us is truly humbling and an honor, there are so many hungry kids in the county and this will allow us to reach them," Scott Lewis, founder and executive director of the Brightside Project, said Friday.

The check presentation event also featured remarks by Brightside Project Co-Director Lisa Wallace, and State Farm representative Bridgett Cutlip.

The event was attended by representatives of state Rep. Tim Ginter, R-Salem, and U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Sixth.

The Brightside Project won one of 100 grants awarded by State Farm in association with their 100-year anniversary celebration. State Farm received 4,000 applicants, of these 4,000, State Farm selected 200 potential recipients to be placed for public vote, with the top 100 applicants receiving funding. The Brightside Project also received an official proclamation from the Ohio State House of Representatives, congratulating them for their receipt of the grant, and acknowledging that "The Brightside Project has enhanced the quality of life within the surrounding area, and its generous contributions have earned it the gratitude and respect of many."

The Brightside Project is a faith-based nonprofit that reaches out to children who have experienced traumatic events, many of whom are economically disadvantaged. Wallace noted that "economic status is not necessarily an indicator of need in our community, so our rule of thumb is if the adult in their life feels they would benefit from our services, we provide them, so the child can feel loved by the community."

The original title for the new vehicle was the Empowerment Bus; however, this has been changed to the Sunshine Bus. Wallace called the coming bus, "everything we do on a food giveaway night on wheels." Currently the Brightside Project is only able to reach 13% of the impoverished children in Columbiana County who need their help. Wallace noted that there are many causes for this "whether the issue is parental buy-in, or an issue with securing transportation, the Sunshine Bus will allow us to better serve them. The point of the Sunshine Bus is to go to the kids."

Cutlip was ecstatic that the Brightside Project was one of the recipients of the Hometown Assist Grant. Cutlip is very familiar with The Brightside Project, saying "our whole family volunteers at the Brightside Project, myself, my husband, even our children. We know the great work they do in Columbiana County." Cutlip, a Salem resident, could not be happier that "State Farm is reinvesting in our community," and noted that, "this organization really is a brightside in Columbiana County." Cutlip also expressed pride that "of 100 winning causes across 36 states, 13 were from right here in Ohio."

Lewis noted the enormity of the acquisition, explaining "the original dream for the Brightside Project was to have this bus, but God had other plans, we were able to get a van and begin serving people, but that dream never died." Lewis also noted that, like fate "the original unit we were hoping to purchase several years ago sold, so we were looking into other options when we were informed the original bus had become available as the organization buying it previously secured additional funding and upgraded to a larger unit, so it was available for $40,000." Lewis offered the company $35,000 in an email which was accepted.

Lewis explained that over the weekend an anonymous donor had agreed to donate the remaining $10,000, allowing the fulfillment of a six-year dream. When asked what this meant for the Brightside Project, an emotional Lewis said "I know there's going to be hungry kids who can't get to us, and now we can go to them."