Brighter Journeys received a $15,000 First Federal Charitable Foundation grant in memory of its
co-founder Lisa Urbanski that it plans to use to support the special needs community.
The funding will support the organization’s grant program, which it uses to award items that
insurance doesn’t cover to individuals and families in the special needs community. The items
have included numerous things that can be necessary to daily life, help lessen the burden of
daily tasks, or brighten their day, including fences for families where a child can pose elopement
concerns, adaptive tricycles, adaptive wheelchairs, stair lifts, ramps, wagons, adaptive strollers,
and Chill-out-Chairs.
Brighter Journeys also plans to use some of the funding toward its annual Special Needs Egg
Hunt, which is held at Mohegan Pennsylvania. The organization was founded because Urbanski
and Bernice Sando, two mothers of children with special needs, were looking for an Egg Hunt
that their children could enjoy at their own pace and in a friendly environment.

“The work of First Federal Charitable Foundation allows so many organizations to focus on their
main goals while continuing to strengthen and support the communities they serve,” said
Brighter Journeys Project Coordinator Kathy Bufalino. “Their continued work enables nonprofit
organizations like Brighter Journeys to remain focused on what matters most, which is making a
meaningful difference in the lives of those we serve.”
First Federal Charitable Foundation Executive Director Megan Kennedy said, “We are proud to
support Brighter Journeys because they provide such meaningful work to individuals and
families in our community. They not only provide items and services to individuals with special
needs and their families, but they offer first-hand experience that makes navigating life for these
families so much easier.”
The First Federal Charitable Foundation was established to support worthwhile community
causes. It strives to nurture nonprofit institutions and programs that will effectively serve those
in need from the community, empower nonprofit institutions and programs that will expand
their presence in and services to the area, and promote opportunities for new nonprofit
institutions and programs that will serve the unserved.
Nonprofit organizations with a 501(c)(3) IRS designation located in Luzerne, Schuylkill, Carbon
and Columbia counties are eligible to apply. Any organization whose headquarters is in another
county but services either Luzerne, Schuylkill, Carbon or Columbia counties may apply for a
grant to be used in one of those counties.
For information on the foundation or to obtain a grant application, visit
www.1stfederalcharitable.org or email megankennedy7169@gmail.com.