The Brightside: The Briddell Family Foundation
MARYLAND – In a quest for higher education, an Eastern Shore family birthed a non-profit organization that for over 20 years has made it their mission to help students reach a level of success that will aid them in their academic career and beyond.
For the past 22 years, the Briddell Family Foundation has helped to strengthen the community by encouraging young minds on their path to higher education.
Kwanza Briddell, co-founder tells us, it was birthed from her inability to afford the rest of her education, and a desire to make sure other students didn’t have to experience that same fate. While they raised only $300 in their first year, that was just a small step. “I was like this can barely buy a book what are we going to do with this But look at us now 22 years later, I’m grateful for where it’s grown to.” Briddell adds, “That’s where our growth is, wherever the community needs us in making education a tradition is part of our mission, and we want to stick by that.”
The foundation works to aid the community in three areas of focus; humanitarianism, benevolence, and education and scholarship gifts. All of those focuses are highlighted through their multiple programs related to reading. Programs such as their book exchanges, or their MLK service day where they pass out books to people at the Centre at Salisbury, to make sure all community members have access to free books.
“Now we have six schools that we’ve adopted and partner with them and we provide them with books and school supplies and their birthday book club so every student in the school gets a brand new book on their birthday,” says Briddell. Schools like Buckingham Elementary, West and East Salisbury, are just some of the few benefiting from their programming.
Beyond gifting new books for those students, they’re also providing the gift of literacy through their reading buddy program. “Literacy, people don’t realize it’s still a big deal that there are so many children who struggle with it and there are even adults who struggle with it.” Briddell adds, “We paired with our school systems who identify students who are not at their reading level, and then our foundation student members (high school and college student) each pair up with a buddy one-on-one and read once a week.”
The program aims to create lifelong connections while making reading “FUN-damental” a motto the foundation lives by. Which in turn, has given the foundation the ability to continue growing in the community, and providing financial aid for students looking to continue that mission in their education. “The world is different and technology is definitely taking over and social media is giving kids a lot of other things, but when you look back at the fundamentals of reading and math, are still needed. Whether you start your own business or go work for somebody else, we just want to encourage them in whatever their path is and that’s part of our motto,” says Briddell.
While she also tells us, she sees a bright future ahead for the foundation and says that just seeing the amount of schools, students, and communities they’re impacting, makes it all worth it. “We are international, we are changing lives and helping students all over the world, so to start from our little scholarship fund that started in Berlin, MD to be up and down the east coast, we’re in three states and Ghana, it’s more than I could ever imagine,” says Briddell.
The foundation has most recently partnered with a school in Ghana to provide books and assist in building their first library. They are solely based on donations so any donations whether monetary, volunteering, or providing books are appreciated.
We’re told they’re currently gearing up for multiple book-give-away events and their big gala at the end of the year. You can find more information on the foundation by visiting their website or visit their Facebook page.
