Brightside Project to expand with purchase of new building

A new building recently purchased by The Brightside Project in Salem came with all of its contents which were donated by Crossroad Ministries, including several musical instruments and pre-installed audio equipment. (Photo by Morgan Ahart)
SALEM — The Brightside Project has announced the purchase of a new building.
“We’ve been very happy, and have been blessed with this opportunity,” said Brightside Project Executive Director Scott Lewis.
Brightside announced Thursday in a statement on its Facebook page that it had officially purchased the building located at 1909 North Ellsworth Avenue, formerly an IGA Supermarket, followed by Crossroads Ministries as part of its ongoing efforts to expand its programming to meet the needs of more families and children in need across the Mahoning Valley. The Brightside Project had initially intended to purchase the former Donnell Ford Lincoln building at 152 Continental Drive to renovate it into a youth center for Columbiana County children –embarking on a capital campaign to fund the purchase which was ultimately suspended in July after Brightside was unable to secure state funding necessary to meet the $3 million purchase price.
Brightside has previously said that while they served 14,00 children in need across Columbiana County in 2023, the aim now is to expand that support to communities in need outside Columbiana County to surrounding communities in the Mahoning Valley and serve 25,000 children annually by 2034. To reach that goal, Lewis and Brightside Co-Director Lisa Vittorio have said that Brightside must expand, as its current office on East Pershing Street simply is not large enough to meet the needs of that many children.
“We had big dreams with the Donnell Ford building and while that particular plan didn’t unfold as we had hoped, we believe that every step has led us exactly where we need to be,” read the statement.
Lewis said that the purchase was finalized Wednesday, and that when they had initially investigated the possibility there was already an existing purchase agreement in place for the building.
“There was an existing purchase agreement for the property so we thought we would be unable to purchase it, but God answered some prayers, and the previous person who had been involved decided to back out and it became an option for us,” said Lewis.
Renovations are already underway, with volunteer teams from Pennex, Williams, and TC Energy offering time and labor as early as last week to clean out the building, with six roll-off dumpsters filled. Lewis said that Brightside is aiming to be fully moved into the new building by the end of November, with tentative plans to host Brightside’s last food distribution for November at the new building, and this year’s Bright Christmas also slated for the new space. Lewis said that renovations in the main space and multi-purpose room have already completed save flooring, which is expected to arrive Monday with a new HVAC system to follow.
Lewis also said that painting was initially set for this week, but had to be delayed due to weather issues, and that he was hopeful it would be able to start this past weekend. Once completed the building’s exterior will be white with striping and borders in Brightside’s signature orange and teal.
“It will still have the Brightside look, and you’ll just see that even more when you come inside,” said Lewis.
While the building on North Ellsworth “is a downsize” from Brightside’s initial goal, it did provide “several exciting positives” including: lower operational costs which will allow more resources to go directly to programming; a faster renovation timeline; a more manageable space for Brightside’s current staffing and volunteer levels; an “intimate and welcoming environment to make children feel more comfortable;” room for intentional growth and future expansion; improved accessibility; and “stronger community ties with a building already rooted in local history.”
“This space has a much friendlier size for our programming, without as much renovating to do,” said Lewis.
The building also came with all of its contents which were donated by Crossroad Ministries, including several musical instruments and approximately $30,000 in pre-installed audio equipment.
This new larger building is intended to serve as “a safe haven where kids can have their basic needs met, receive academic support, build meaningful relationships, and explore career pathways and workforce development opportunities,” that will offer “social-emotional development and mental health support.” Lewis also said that the larger size would allow Brightside to have a separate event space in the multi-purpose room without needing to empty and reset its pantry space used for food distributions each Christmas and Easter season.
He said that while that pantry space would look different in Brightside’s new home it would be retaining its “grocery store,” experience which helps empower and teach kids to make healthy choices. That space is also set to “incorporate some of that IGA history,” into the experience.
While the building itself has been secured, funding is still needed to “see this project through to completion,” and Brightside is seeking sponsors and community support. Those interested in providing monetary support can do so online at brightsideprojectohio.org or by mail to PO Box 314, Salem, Ohio 44460. Brightside also has an Amazon wish list for items needed for the center which can be located on its Facebook page.