Brighton Our World announces care package drive for military children

THE WOODLANDS, TX – A local businesswoman is taking her love of family and the strong work ethic she strives to instill in children to a new level with a care package donation drive.

Brandi Watterson, founder and owner of Brighton Academy in The Woodlands, recently started a nonprofit organization called Brighton Our World. BOW’s mission is to teach children of all ages to understand the value of generosity and be motivated to meet the needs of other children in unfortunate situations. BOW’s three main initiatives include scholarship opportunities, curriculum outreach, and the Chores 4 Change program that teaches children the value of hard work while providing them with the resources to help those around them.

“Brighton Our World presents several initiatives throughout the year in an effort to create a heartbeat of generosity in children at a young age; to open their eyes to see beyond their immediate world and onto the needs of other children. We invite everyone in the community to participate in these initiatives, starting with our Junior Heroes initiative,” said Watterson.

BOW’s Junior Heroes initiative is brand new, and focuses on providing care packages for active military children based at Ft. Hood in Killeen, Texas. “We want our military kids to know that we see them and the sacrifice they make when their parents serve our country,” said Watterson. “Throughout the initiative, the children participating will be bringing in donations and will also have an opportunity to participate in a ‘serve day’ where we will be putting all the donations into care packages. Our hope is that they will gain a better understanding of the different military branches and how their sacrifice has provided us the freedom we experience in our country today.”

The donation drive runs June 5 - 30. Watterson is looking for items to be donated such as crayons, markers, sidewalk chalk, construction paper, bubbles, and any other small items that are youth-friendly. Items can be dropped off at several local businesses that have agreed to be a donation site, including: Starbucks, 9955 Woodlands Pkwy., The Woodlands; Premier Martial Arts – The Woodlands, 24527 Gosling Rd., Spring; Brighton Academy Indian Springs, 10810 Falconwing Dr.; and Brighton Academy Panther Creek, 10400 Gosling Rd., The Woodlands. The ‘serve day’ reserved to put the care packages together will take place on July 22.

Initiatives like this donation drive go beyond a good business decision or community service for Watterson; she lives each day working to better the lives of not only her own children, but all others.

“Ever since my children were little, I wanted to find a way to open their eyes to the needs of others. Through the years, we have had the opportunity to teach children the importance of giving back to help others in need to where they understand that no matter how little they are, they can make a big difference,” she said. “Junior Heroes was inspired by a desire we have to teach our children the roots of our country and the sacrifice other children make as their parent’s serve our country. We also wanted to instill an awareness of the sacrifice our military makes on our behalf in an effort to understand that it’s because of their sacrifice that we have freedom. At BOW, we also feel the children of our active military are often forgotten and want to let them know that they are in our thoughts and we see their sacrifice as well.”