Our History
Big Reach was first thought of in 2004. Although a mere vision, Big Reach has
now become a reality. For many families in the Mahoning Valley and surrounding communities Big Reach started what is now a way of survival. In 2004 Big Reach began as an outreach to the community in order to help those in need who struggle getting their children ready to go back to school. In August 2004 we held our first Big Reach Back to School event, helping 74 families with food, clothing, personal care products, and more. We also helped 228 children with new book bags, school supplies and new clothes. While we were able to help many families there were still several families in need of assistance.
In October 2004 on the tail of Big Reach Back to School we opened the doors to the Giving Tree in order to help families by providing free clothing and food. This was located in the double classroom of the Christian Life Center on the Greenford Christian Church campus. In November 2004, with the need for more space, the Giving Tree was relocated to the basement of the Christian Life Center. At that time Second Harvest Food Bank joined with us as partners to help with the need for food to feed families. In December 2004 we began a new venture. Big Reach Christmas was launched with 156 families receiving food boxes, turkeys, and more. 387 children also received new toys and new clothes. Over all in 2004 Big Reach helped to assist 1,400 individuals with food and clothing.
As a new year approached, the Giving Tree continued to grow with the need for free food and clothing increasing on a daily basis. January thru July of 2005 the Giving Tree was helping 100 families per month. By August 2005 our monthly numbers increased to 200 families per month. In August of 2005 Big Reach Back to School helped 135 families with food, clothing, and personal care products and 372 children received new book bags, hair cuts, school supplies and new clothes. In December of 2005 we helped 240 families and 640 children with food, new toys and new clothes at Big Reach Christmas. In 2005 we were able to assist 2,186 families and 7,941 individuals with food and clothing.
The Giving Tree began to branch out in a new endeavor as Easter 2006 approached. We distributed 600 Easter baskets to children ages birth to 12 years of age. In August of 2006 Big Reach Back to School was a huge success as we reached out to 223 families with food and clothing and 675 children received book bags, new clothes and school supplies.
The Center of Hope
The need for more space was inevitable at this point. 
On September 15, 2006 the Mahoning County “Extreme Makeover” My Hometown sponsored by WYTV Channel 33 and hundreds of Valley businesses joined together to build The Big Reach Center of Hope. This 22,000 square foot facility was erected in about ten days completed with offices, classrooms, a kitchen, a warehouse and more.
In October of 2006 The Big Reach Center of Hope opened its doors to low income and underserved families and individuals in the Mahoning Valley and surrounding communities. In December of 2006 Big Reach Christmas was held in our new facility and reached out to 553 families, 1,245 children who all received food, clothes, new toys and much more. As the new facility opened in this year it gave us the opportunity to reach out to many more individuals and families in need. In 2006 we assisted 5,721 families and 20,713 individuals.
The Big Reach Center of Hope developed a partnership in 2007 with the Mahoning County Educational Service Center, where we became a training site for high school students from Mahoning County schools. Soon after, we partnered with Hope House Visitation Center in Youngstown in which they are currently using our facility as their rural visitation center location. In March of 2007 Big Reach Easter was successful, as we distributed 1,200 Easter baskets to children from birth to 12 years of age. In April of 2007 McMaster’s Farms partnered with us as part of our Hope Harvest Project in which they planted fields of sweet corn and pumpkins.
The Big Reach Center of Hope began their Homeless Outreach in April of 2007 as they partnered with The Greater Youngstown Point. The Center of Hope went to Youngstown and passed out boxes of food, clothes, blankets, and Bibles to the homeless. Big Reach partnered with Home Savings in Youngstown for Big Reach Back to School which was held in August 2007. They purchased 800 new book bags to be distributed to low income and underserved children. They also collected school supplies from all of their Mahoning, Columbiana and Trumbull county branches. During Big Reach Back to School 2007 331 families received food and clothing and 862 children received new book bags and new clothes.
Also in August of 2007 The Big Reach Center of Hope held its first annual golf outing benefit at the Salem Golf Club. Forty-five golfers participated and $9,957.02 was raised to help off set the loan on the Center of Hope. In October of 2007 the Homeless Outreach returned to Youngstown where we helped 181 families and 410 individuals with food, clothing, blankets and bibles. In October of 2007 we held our first annual Big Reach Pumpkin Festival. 350 children attended with their parents and all were able to pick a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch, receive free food and more. The Big Reach Center of Hope held its first annual “Hope Gala” in November of 2007 at Mr. Anthony’s in Boardman, Ohio. With 200 guests present to enjoy dinner, dancing and auctions we raised $23,000 to help off set the loan on the Center of Hope facility.
In November of 2007 we partnered with Mahoning County Job and Family services to become a work site sponsor for their Work Experience Program. For Big Reach Christmas 2007 we distributed 1,800 new toys to children. We also distributed food to over 1,000 families and gifts to over 300 senior citizens. In 2007 we assisted 8,590 families and 29,487 individuals with food and clothing. 2008 was a record breaking year. The Center of Hope reached out to 9,248 families and fed and clothed 33,816 individuals.
The Big Reach Center of Hope’s mission is dedicated to providing the resources and opportunities to help low-income and underserved individuals and families in the Mahoning Valley and surrounding communities move toward self sufficiency through education and training. Providing them with hope by meeting both their tangible and spiritual needs and recognizing the dignity and beauty of every person that comes through the doors.
The Future
Future plans for the Center of Hope are to continue reaching out to families with food and clothing. Once the Center of Hope has raised the money to pay off the outstanding balance on the facility loan, we will focus on the next level of the Big Reach vision. In the future we hope to build The Big Reach Center of Hope Health Clinic which would be located next to the Big Reach Center of Hope. With the rise in health care costs we are seeing more and more families and senior citizens having to choose between food and medicine. The Big Reach Center of Hope is currently addressing the need for food and clothing and will look forward to in the future having the opportunity to address the medical issues of families and individuals in need.
Our long term plans at the Center of Hope are for a future where families can receive food, clothing, educational assistance and medical care. As we continue to grow and reach out to those in need we also feel that we must keep improving our facility to make it better adaptable to changing situations. Although we cannot be the complete solution to all the problems occurring in our communities; we can join in with other organizations and we can make a difference in the lives of families and individuals in our communities.
At the Big Reach Center of Hope we have many programs that are currently on going. The food and clothing distribution is one of our largest programs. Food and clothing distribution takes place at the Center of Hope every Tuesday and Thursday. We distribute free food and clothing to area families and individuals that are in need in the local and surrounding communities. Families are eligible to come to the Center of Hope once a month and must meet all income requirements in order to participate.
Some of the programs at the Center of Hope occur once a year such as Big Reach Easter which takes place at The Big Reach Center of Hope. This event takes place during our regular food and clothing distribution days. Families coming in to the Center of Hope can receive Easter baskets for their children ages birth thru 12 years starting four weeks prior to Easter. The Big Reach Back to School program offers school aged children the opportunity to receive a book bag, school supplies and new clothes to help prepare them to go back to school. Families attending this event can also receive food, used clothing, fresh produce, haircuts, vision screenings, spinal checks and hearing checks. We provide an information tent that consists of organizations and their representatives from the valley to talk to families and provide them with knowledge of assistance available to them.
We have partnered with McMaster’s Farms in Columbiana for the Big Reach Pumpkin Festival; McMaster’s Farms plant the fields around the Big Reach Center of Hope with pumpkins. Families and individuals can come and pick pumpkins, enjoy cider and doughnuts and participate in the children’s activities for a fun and relaxing fall day.
Big Reach Christmas takes place four weeks prior to Christmas. During this time we distribute new toys to children, gifts to our senior citizens, turkeys and food boxes for the holidays. Families and individuals coming to The Big Reach Center of Hope are able to take part in this during their monthly visit.
The Homeless Outreach is a new program where we have partnered with The Greater Youngstown Point in Youngstown. In this program we are able to take The Big Reach Center of Hope on the road so we can reach out to the homeless by distributing food, clothing and bibles.
We have also partnered with Operation Blessing out of Virginia. They deliver us semi truck loads of non perishable foods at no charge to us. We are a distribution site for them. Through this blessing we are now able to distribute to several other small food pantries in Mahoning and Columbiana counties. These food pantries come to our warehouse facility and pick up their food. We are not only reaching out to area families, we are now reaching out to other pantries also.
The accomplishments of The Big Reach Center of Hope can be seen by the many ways that the Center of Hope is working and partnering with other organizations to reach out to the Mahoning Valley and surrounding communities to give families and individuals in need a helping hand. Our facility enables us to assist more families and individuals now than we were two years ago. As the need for assistance continues to grow, so must we, and by partnering with other organizations we are able to reach out to give hope to those in need.
The Big Reach Center of Hope is a unique place because when we started with this vision in 2004 we had nothing-no money, no support and no experience. With every step we have taken God has provided the resources and partners that we have needed to be where we are today. Every time our numbers increased we always had enough to make sure that every family and individual received what they needed to get by. Even though we are a ministry of the Greenford Christian Church we are not solely funded by the church. The community helps to fund us as well. Whether it is through a smile, a hug, an encouraging word or a box of food with no strings attached, we are simply here to give our families hope as well as show them that they matter to God and to us. What makes The Big Reach Center of Hope special is found in the last part of our mission statement. We treat families and individuals that come in to the Center of Hope with dignity and we recognize the beauty of each person. We have come from a vision in 2004 to where we are now and in such a short time, we have been able to reach out and give hope to thousands. The Center of Hope will always be a place where families feel safe, loved and most importantly, be treated with respect.