PHOTOS COURTESY OF DEVA COLLINS PHOTOGRAPHY
The future of Bright Apple is even brighter with the help of Ford of Columbia and Hyundai of Columbia.
Chris Alexander, Dealer Partner and General Manager, and Patrick Robertson, Assistant General Manager, recently signed on to partner with Bright Apple to help provide healthy snacks for students in Maury County schools.
“I cannot thank Patrick enough for taking the time to meet with me last October to learn about what we do through Bright Apple,” said Lisa Ciesliga, Director of Development for Bright Apple. “He knew that our mission aligned with Chris’ vision for the dealerships and got us connected. Their response to support Bright Apple was immediate and their contribution is making a huge impact in helping us serve the children in our community.”Bradd and Charity Kimes and Michael Baker co-founded Bright Apple in 2019 on the belief that no child should go without food, including a snack during the school day to help them stay focused and achieve academic success. Bright Apple currently serves more than 1,500 students in Maury County Schools each school day. Since 2019, more than 750,000 snacks have been served through Bright Apple with the help of supporters and partners like Ford of Columbia and Hyundai of Columbia. Their greater goal is to bring Bright Apple to schools across the United States.
“Lisa presented us with this opportunity to make Bright Apple a focal point of our ‘why’ in what we do every day,” said Robertson. “We want to know that we can make a real impact in our community. It is amazing how far the dollars can go with Bright Apple to make a huge impact! Both of our families are committed to being financial supporters as well. It’s personal to us. We believe in it.”
The healthy snacks Bright Apple provides help close the achievement gap, allowing children to be able to focus on things other than basic necessities. Many students have lunch at school, but don’t eat again until the next day. Children who are hungry cannot focus on learning during the school day. Studies show that if students are behind in reading by third grade, most never catch up and many will not graduate high school. Bright Apple’s mission is to focus on feeding children so they can focus on learning.
“My personal experience in school makes Bright Apple’s mission even more near and dear to me,” said Alexander. “I had a teacher in sixth grade, Mr. Strickland, who literally changed my life. I wasn’t doing very well in school. My family is not an educated family; my dad has a third-grade education, and my mom is Japanese and doesn’t speak English very well. Luckily for me, Mr. Strickland invested in me and had a major impact on me. I went from being in the 30th-percentile in school to taking honors classes. I eventually went on to get a four-year degree. I know just how much someone caring can make a difference.”
The simple act of caring is exactly what Bright Apple brings to life for children in the community each day.
“A snack is really a way of saying, ‘we care about you, your future, and your ability to learn and grow in the classroom setting,’” said Charity Kimes. “Partnering in this endeavor as a community makes us all stronger. The children that we can serve because of this dealership’s generosity will change lives by providing hope to those in need.”
The partnership with Bright Apple is setting the stage for the dealerships to make education initiatives even more of a focus going forward.
“This is still infantile as far as what we will be able to accomplish together and what Bright Apple will be able to do,” said Robertson. “This is our give-back moment. It’s just a small piece of what we want to do long term.”