LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE FUNDRAISER

Bright, dazzling lights filling the room. Vivid brilliant colors draping every inch. Aerial artists dropping from the Great Court ceiling. Jugglers walking around performing. A dazzling array of other performances will highlight Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health’s (C&A) 15th annual Let Your Light Shine (LYLS) fundraiser on April 4, with all proceeds benefiting the agency. This year’s theme is Cirque de Lumiere.

WHAT’S NEW?

This year’s event will feature new twists to the traditional event. Previous LYLS events had a casino or gaming table theme. This year’s one-of-a-kind unique event will feature a spectacular cirque performance from Down To Earth Aerials, a Raleigh-based theatrical cirque company. Down to Earth Aerials is a well-known cirque troupe performing all over Virginia and North Carolina including The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, The North Carolina State Fair, North Carolina Museum of History, KFC Canada and Watkins Glen International Speedway.

Dazzling cirque performances will include a stilt walker, jugglers, a contortionist, aerialists and a cyr wheel artist. This amazing, vibrant, colorful performance promises to leave those in attendance in awe. Floor performances will take place all evening before the main performance.

HONORING OUR PAST

2020 marks 15 anniversary of this inspiring event spotlighting the services C&A is able to provide children ages 0 to 24 who are experiencing behavioral and emotional mental health issues. On Feb. 20, C&A honored our past chairpersons of this event which spotlights our children and programming that enables youth and adolescents the chance at health, hope and happiness. The first chairperson and originator of this event was Nancy Pryce. Pryce started this event to raise awareness and funds for C&A’s services. The initial LYLS had a unique concept of hanging a wooden painted rainbow on the side of the Central Trust building at the corner of Market Avenue North and Tuscarawas Street.

On the rainbow were numbered light bulbs. The last light bulb to burn out was the grand prize winner. Unfortunately, a light bulb can burn for a year or longer, so the display came down after a couple of months. Other past chairpersons include Robin Clark, Holly Davies, Lisa Warburton Gregory, Stephanie Green, Danielle Higgins, Ann McCabe, Dr. Michael McCabe, Melissa Pitinii, Karen Smetana, Mark Spano, Tim Voros and Derek Williams. This year’s chair is Monica Gwin.

TRADITIONAL AND NON-TRADITIONAL WAYS TO PARTICIPATE

C&A will have the traditional live and silent auction. Some enticing and unique auction items include a one-week trip to Cancun, Cleveland Whiskey Tour and Tasting for 25 people, Country Fest basket (includes two tickets), Tickets to a Cirque performance in Cleveland with a hotel stay, a Calloway Driver and Stand Bag and Down To Earth Aerials is donating a cirque performance to one lucky winner.

New to this year’s event is a Grand Raffle $2,500 Money Tree, where the winner needs not be present to win. A limited number of $25 tickets are for sale from committee members. Raffle tickets may be purchased on our LYLS shine page.

No donation is too small. Young professionals and community members can make a small donation which appears to be a small act but this will have a big impact. Community members can make a token donation of $1, $5 or $10 through PayPal, which will have a significant impact on services and programming C&A is able to provide to more than 4,400 children each year.

HOW DO I PURCHASE TICKETS?

Tickets are currently on sale by clicking on this link - https://childandadolescent.org/let-your-light-shine-2020-cirque-de-lumiere/ If you have any questions, please call Melissa Coultas at 330-454-7917, ext. 117 or email mcoultas@childandadolescent.org.

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CHILD AND ADOLESCENT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC AFFILIATION WITH GOODWILL INDUSTRIES TO STRENGTHEN YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ACROSS STARK COUNTY

By Daniel Mucci • January 16, 2026

CANTON, Ohio (Jan 16) – Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (C&A) announced today a strategic affiliation with Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio, Inc. (Goodwill). The affiliation reflects a shared commitment to strengthening community-based services and ensuring long-term stability for children, adolescents, and families across Stark County. This affiliation brings together two mission-driven nonprofit organizations that serve many of the same individuals and families. C&A’s clinical expertise in youth behavioral health will be supported by Goodwill’s established administrative and operational infrastructure, allowing both organizations to advance their missions while remaining focused on the communities they serve. “Youth mental health needs continue to grow across our community,” said Melissa Coultas, Chief Executive Officer of Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health. “This affiliation allows us to strengthen our operational foundation while preserving who we are. Our mission, our services, and our commitment to Stark County remain unchanged, and this partnership allows us to reinvest resources into care and into our staff.” As part of the affiliation, C&A will maintain its designated 501c3 status and operate as an affiliate program of Goodwill. C&A’s name, mission, programs and local leadership remain in place. Clinical services will continue without disruption. Select administrative functions will transition to a shared services model supported by Goodwill. “At Goodwill, our mission is to strengthen communities by helping people overcome barriers,” said Anne Richards, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio. “This affiliation reflects Goodwill’s commitment to supporting vital local programs and ensuring C&A can continue delivering trusted, lifechanging mental health services to Stark County families for years to come.” C&A will retain its own Board of Directors and leadership team. Goodwill will serve as the corporate member and provide shared administrative services in areas such as human resources, information technology, and financial operations. “This was a thoughtful, mission-centered decision by the Board,” said Casey McCloud, Board President of Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health. “It strengthens C&A’s longterm sustainability while preserving local oversight and ensuring continued access to critical services for children and families.”

Talking to Children and Adolescents about Violence

By Mary M. Kreitz • September 12, 2025

It seems to be happening all the time – school shootings, violent attacks at public events, celebrities and public figures being attacked or even killed. When things like this happen, it usually shows up on the television and the internet, people post about it on social media, and people talk about it with others around them. Children and adolescents find out, and they may come to you wanting to talk or to ask you questions. How should you handle it? These are difficult but important conversations to have. Here are some tips for talking with children and teens about violent events.

Same Mission, New Places: Empowering Stark County’s Youth for the Next 50 Years

By Melissa Coultas • June 30, 2025

For 50 years, we have stood shoulder to shoulder with Stark County’s children and families, helping them grow, heal and thrive through every challenge. Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (C&A) is a leading nonprofit here in Stark County, but many are unaware of the significant number of lives we touch every day. We are working to change that and find people in the community ready to help us build the next 50 years of hope for Stark County youth. We serve more than 4,000 kids each year by providing mental health services: a person to talk to, a mentor to help them grow, a place where kids with trauma can go to school and a place to hear a voice of reason where no one is turned away because of income.

Red and white megaphone with yellow sound effects, angled to the right.

CHILD AND ADOLESCENT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AWARDED THREE GRANTS TO STRENGTHEN YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

By Daniel Mucci • May 19, 2025

CANTON, Ohio (May 19) – Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (C&A) has been awarded more than $217,000 in new grant funding from six community-focused foundations and agencies to enhance service delivery, support families, and improve internal operations across Stark County. The grants—awarded by the Health Foundation of Greater Massillon, Massillon Rotary Foundation, North Canton Medical Foundation, United Way of Greater Stark County, the SummerTime Kids program, and the Roy H. Powell and Nina B. Powell Family Charitable Fund—reflect continued community investment in C&A’s mission and momentum. “These contributions help us strengthen the systems that support the mental health of our community’s youth,” said Melissa Coultas, CEO of Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health. “They ensure our team is equipped, our services remain accessible, and our families feel supported.”

SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER

By Mary M. Kreitz • November 21, 2024

For many people changes in the seasons also bring changes in mood, energy, sleep, weight and appetite. Some researchers have found that as many as 90% of people report noticing these types of changes in themselves. However, for some people, the changes are so intense that they interfere with the person’s ability to function in their daily life. Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD is a type of clinical depression that occurs with a consistent seasonal pattern. The symptoms of SAD are the same as those for other depressive disorders; what is different is that the symptoms begin every year around the same time, last for several months, and then go away for the rest of the year. The most common form of SAD is what is known as winter-pattern SAD in which depressive symptoms start in the fall or early winter and end in the spring. Another less common form is known as summer-pattern SAD and is associated with depressive symptoms that occur during the spring and summer months and improve in the fall.

ELECTION ANXIETY

By Mary M. Kreitz • November 6, 2024

The 2024 election has brought a lot of fear and stress into the lives of people throughout the country. A recent survey by the American Psychological Association found that 77% of adults in the US are worried about the future of the nation, 73% reported feeling stressed out about the economy and 69% reported feeling stressed about the presidential election. When adults are feeling this high of a level of stress, you can bet that children and adolescents are feeling it too.

TRUSTED ADULT

By Daniel Mucci • October 1, 2024

Are you a trusted adult to your child or someone’s child in your life? What are the characteristics of a trusted adult? Trusted adults are viewed by children or adolescents as a safe figure that listens without judgment, agenda or expectation, but with the sole purpose of supporting and encouraging positivity within a young person’s life. Today’s youth identify a trusted adult as someone who is willing to listen and engage, rather than lecture and give orders. Young adults are interested in having open conversations about mental health, social media, bullying and sharing their own experiences.