WILKES-BARRE TOWNSHIP, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Every parent wants to give their child the best, but for one Luzerne County woman, that desire extends beyond her immediate family and into the lives of dozens of others who have children with special needs in northeastern Pennsylvania.
In this week's Remarkable Woman, meet Lisa Urbanski, Co-founder of the non-profit Brighter Journeys.
Lisa Urbanski holds back tears of joy after her family and friends surprise her with a Remarkable Woman nomination.
"No clue, Honest to God, I had no clue whatsoever," Lisa said.
It's well deserved. She's humble, passionate, and selfless.
Advocating not only for her 19-year-old son Joseph, who was born premature with several health issues, but also for all children with special needs and their families.
When Joseph was born, Lisa discovered there was a lack of resources and support for families in similar situations.
"And then I just realized, after a while, there needs to be something out there to help these families. Joseph wasn't just Down Syndrome, or something that had its own support group. He was trisomy 16. And I just wanted to help all the families, it didn't matter what the disability was, just that we're here for them," Lisa explained.
Honoring women veterans one story at a time
This led Lisa and her friend, Bernice Sando, to establish their non-profit, Brighter Journeys.
It is an inclusive organization seeking to brighten the journey for any individual with special needs.
It started 10 years ago with a small egg hunt as a fundraiser, but quickly hatched into something much larger.
"This whole valley is full of the special needs kids community. What started off with 300 kids is up to like 1200, and this one event that we do is magical. And it's a bunch of Josephs, just a bunch of different Josephs. Whether they're children, or adults, and it's the most magical day in my life," Lisa continued.
Brighter Journeys has since expanded greatly, serving families in 13 counties in our region.
They've granted wishes by providing financial assistance for home improvements, educational resources, and therapies not covered by insurance.
Over the past three years, the organization has donated more than $250,000 in gifts to local families.
Non-profit helping survivors through art therapy
"The money that we raise, we give right back out to the community very humbly. I have an amazing board of directors, and very humbly, we put this money back into families. We've done fences, we've done wheelchairs. Anything you can imagine, like, we try to take care of if insurance doesn't cover it or they can't afford it," Lisa added.
Not only does she help provide resources to these families, she's also creating friendships and establishing a lifelong community together. Something she has come to rely on in recent years as she fights her own personal battle with cancer.
"And in the midst of, everything is perfect, I was given an ovarian cancer diagnosis. So for two years, I've been trying to take care of myself, and keep doing what I love doing, and every day going into Brighter Journeys and planning the next event for our special need community. So, Brighter Journeys is a blessing to me, because it's keeping me going," Lisa said.
The dedication and impact Lisa has made on the lives of these families is immeasurable, but Lisa believes she gets more out of it and that is truly remarkable.
"Those smiles are for real. The faces that the pictures of the grant recipients, or the family standing by the fence that we just got them, or the child going up the stair glide. It's more than satisfying, it's just perfect," Lisa stated.
Lisa is the Remarkable Woman 2025 Winner and will now head to Los Angeles to represent 28/22 News at the Remarkable Women gathering.
