In 2016, Keys 2 Serenity founder, Brenda Ryan’s daughter lost her fight with addiction. Through that indescribable and unimaginable time in her life, Brenda realized that while there are many services and programs for people battling addiction, there was very little assistance and programs for children & families reeling from the effects of this horrible epidemic. Brenda felt called to use that painful time in her life to help to fill the gap between families impacted by addiction and the lack of assistance.

In 2017, Keys 2 Serenity was founded. What started as a small nonprofit impacting a few hundred people a year now provides over 15 events and other programs yearly to support children/teens and families impacted by addiction. These programs provide days of love & connection as well as a sense of community with other families in the same situations. All of our programs are completely FREE for our families and include some sort of food, take-home gifts/presents, and/or door prizes!

Keys has 2 main focuses: Kinship care providers, as well as children and families as a whole, with a sub-program for teens. Our events throughout the year include holiday celebrations (which include a gift for each child), stocking stuffer & gift giveaways, youth-focused activities, fresh produce distributions, back-to-school supply giveaways, our annual Bereaved Mothers Day gathering, Fall Festival, Easter family event, a kids’ fishing derby, an Earth Day clean-up event, and much more! For many families, these gatherings are the only opportunities they have to celebrate holidays, attend special events, and receive gifts and essentials they might otherwise go without.

2025 was our best year yet, as we were able to positively impact over ten thousand children and families around Summit County. While we do take the time to understand that huge impact, we also realize that much more work needs to be done and many more families can still be reached. With the help of even more donors, sponsors, partners, and grantors, we will continue to grow our programs and meet the rising demand for assistance.