Bright Christmas set for Saturday
Each year Bright Christmas gives hundreds of children in Columbiana County the opportunity to choose their own Christmas gifts, meet with Santa and Mrs. Claus, have hot cocoa and refreshments and take home bags of food. (Photo by Morgan Ahart)
Brightside Project Executive Director Scott Lewis, left, Program Coordinator Kierstin Fillman, right, and the rest of the staff and volunteers at The Brightside Project will be busy at work this week preparing for their annual Bright Christmas event which works to ensure Columbiana County children in need are able to have a brighter Christmas. (Photo by Morgan Ahart)
Each year Bright Christmas gives hundreds of children in Columbiana County the opportunity to choose their own Christmas gifts, meet with Santa and Mrs. Claus, have hot cocoa and refreshments and take home bags of food. (Photo by Morgan Ahart)
Brightside Project Executive Director Scott Lewis, left, Program Coordinator Kierstin Fillman, right, and the rest of the staff and volunteers at The Brightside Project will be busy at work this week preparing for their annual Bright Christmas event which works to ensure Columbiana County children in need are able to have a brighter Christmas. (Photo by Morgan Ahart)
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SALEM -- The Brightside Project will be working to help hundreds of Columbiana County children have a merry Christmas again this Saturday with the 8th annual Bright Christmas.
"To see the looks on their faces when they see the toys and know they get to choose is special," said Brightside Project Executive Director Scott Lewis.
The annual event sees Columbiana County children ages birth to 18 receive age-appropriate toys and nutritious food, and like all Brightside Project programming, the children are allowed to choose what they want for themselves. Additionally, this year's event, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., will give children an opportunity to have a meet and greet with Mr. and Mrs. Claus at the "North Pole" before meeting with Brightside staff and volunteers in "Candy Cane Lane" to pick their toys. After which they can enjoy hot cocoa and refreshments.
Lewis explained that the element of choice is prioritized within all Brightside programming in the pursuit of giving children that rarely receive them the chance to make decisions and developing their decision-making skills in doing so. Lewis also noted that giving the decision to the child allows them to remain the focus rather than their parent.
"These kids have been through enough. They deserve to make choices and we want to help teach them how to make choices. The process is all about them, it's not about mom and dad," said Lewis.
Lewis also noted that some children will recognize that while they don't have the need for something, somebody they know does, and will choose something on their behalf.
"There is an element of the process in which children are learning philanthropy to some extent as well," said Lewis.
Last year's event served 689 children in Columbiana County, with each child able to choose three items across two events. While this year Brightside will only be holding one event, they are still anticipating 600 or more children in attendance Saturday, with Lewis noting they are currently hoping to allow each child to pick two items.
However, as the amount of support needed by families in Columbiana County rises amid the ongoing economic squeeze of inflation, donations have also decreased as a result.
"This has been a challenging year for so many families in our community. We saw more and more children attend our events this year. They're just in need of food, supplies and hope," said Brightside Project Co-Director Lisa Vittorio. "The additional financial stress of the holidays is hitting our families hard and even impacting our incoming toy donations this year. We're hoping the community will rally behind us in the homestretch leading into this year's event to help us make Christmas bright for our local children."
The Brightside Project is seeking donations for Bright Christmas for children of all ages, with need for items that "appeal to the 12- to 18-year-old age group," which are typically donated less often during toy drives than those for children of younger ages. Items or monetary donations for the purchase of needed items for distribution can be dropped off at the Brightside Project's Office at 483 E. Pershing St. this week from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Needed items can also be purchased from Brightside's Amazon and Walmart wish lists at www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1FHQU2SNJXW98/ref=hz--ls--biz--ex, and www.walmart.com/registry/RR/4f8eaeef-668d-4aa8-9f6c-80d4ceb789b7 respectively.
Suggested items for kids include Lego; Babydolls; Barbie dolls; action figures; dinosaurs; Squishmallows, art or craft sets; Hot Wheels; LOL dolls; fidget toys and popits; child smart watches or V-Tech products; Shopkins; Ninja Turtles; Paw Patrol; and My Little Pony.
Suggested items for teens include gift cards to popular chains like Dunkin' Donuts, McDonalds or Dairy Queen in $10 to $20 increments; fragrance sets; plush blankets; Funko Pops; art and craft sets; jewelry or watches; skateboards; makeup; hoodies; Bluetooth headphones or earbuds; body wash sets; Nerf blasters; wallets or purses; boxes of candy bars; tumblers or travel mugs; or sports items such as footballs, soccer balls or basketballs.