Thank you to Kent State, for this wonderful article about the founding of The Porchlight Project!
Renner put out a message on Facebook asking for help; it was answered by Alexa Doutt, a director of advancement at Kent State. The two met at a coffee shop in West Akron—and the idea of the Porchlight Project was born.
“I was always a fan of James’s work, and this was a way for me to make a difference,” says Doutt, who handled the back-end legal work of setting up the nonprofit and began fundraising. The two assembled a board, which includes graphic designer Dan Marks, BA ’99, a friend from Renner’s Kent State days, and Phil Trexler, BS ’90, a 3News investigative producer whom Renner knew from Scene.
