LISBON — The Columbiana County Educational Service Center will be hosting Big Brothers Big Sisters program interviews soon thanks to a group project that will bring the program to the county.

ESC Superintendent Marie Williams announced during the March Board of Education meeting that Melissa Galbreath is participating in Leadership Columbiana County and the initiative is her group project to make the program local.

“They needed a space for mentor and student interviews, and we are able to accommodate them. We hope this program grows within the county,” Williams said, according to ESC meeting minutes posted online.

The Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is a mentorship program that partners an adult mentor with a young individual.

According to their website, bbbs.org, the idea is that a “consistent relationship with a positive caring adult mentor” can impact a young persons’ future for the good.

Their statistics state that youth are 46 percent less likely to begin using illegal drugs, 27 percent less likely to begin using alcohol, 52 percent less likely to skip school, and 33 percent less likely to engage in physical altercations as a result of the positivity relationship fostered through the mentorship program.

In other matters, Williams also announced that the ESC is collaborating with the East Central Ohio ESC to provide Drive to Succeed seats for students.

The Drive to Succeed scholarship program is eligible to Ohio youth ages 15 and-a-half to 20 years old, with funding available to help cover the cost of an approved driver education course.

Williams said more information will be shared with the Columbiana County ESC’s school districts soon, and information will also be posted on the local ESC website.