COLUMBUS, Ohio — Around the holidays, we often find ourselves trying to find ways to give back.

After all, nearly one in five students in suburban areas of Ohio are economically disadvantaged.

And there’s one man that’s doing everything he can to change that. 

What You Need To Know

  • Rick Bannister founded the Neighborhood Bridges program 

  • He partners with local school districts, counselors, mental health specialists, nurses and social workers 

  • The program has helped more than 500,000 students
 

For as long Rick Bannister can remember, helping those in need has played a big role in his life.

“I’ve been very involved in our community so usually when we ask for help people come forward and I thought why don’t we create an organization that just does that. That mobilizes the community,” said Rick Bannister, founder, Neighborhood Bridges.

The organization is called Neighborhood Bridges.

It’s one that Bannister founded eight years ago, with a mission to engage with schools to remove non-cognitive barriers so that kids will show up to school everyday. 

“Thirty years ago, the free and reduced lunch population in Westerville was 8%, and now it’s 42%,” said Rick Bannister, founder of Neighborhood Bridges.

But its reach goes far beyond Central Ohio.

Since its inception, Neighborhood Bridges has helped over 500,000 students from the Buckeye State, to Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. 

He partners with local school districts, counselors, mental health specialists, nurses and social workers to find students that need help.

“They post needs anonymously on behalf of students and their school districts and we take it out to the larger community and fill those needs,” Bannister said.  

And Bannister said they can provide a wide range of services from food, to clothing, to school supplies, even providing furniture for students like beds and washers or dryers.  

“It’s really anything that our school personnel identify as a barrier to keeping these students from not only coming to school but really fully engaging in their schoolwork,” Bannister said.

Bannister said from running seven schools levy campaigns, he’s learned three-quarters of the residents from any community don’t have kids in school. 

“So we want to reach out to the wider community, they’re starving to help, they just don’t know how and neighborhood bridges gives them that opportunity to provide love and dignity and hope for children here in their school community,” Bannister said.  

Megan Truax is a nurse at Big Walnut High School and their area director for neighborhood bridges. She’s gotten to see how this program has impacted students firsthand. 

“The ripple effect for students to come in and know they’re cared for by the people around them, and that ripple effect kind of goes out into the school community, those kids feel a part of things and feel valued and like they have worth here in our community,” said Megan Truax, area director of Big Walnut Neighborhood Bridges.

If you want more information or want to see how you can help in your community, click here.