Mashpee Businessman Wants to ‘Light the Way’ to Keep Children Safe

CCB MEDIA PHOTO Dino Mitrokostas displays the items that will be given to students across the Cape with money raised with the Light the Way JS Fund.

CCB MEDIA PHOTO
Dino Mitrokostas displays the items that will be given to students across the Cape with money raised with the Light the Way JS Fund.

MASHPEE – An initiative to provide reflective and light up equipment for children across Cape Cod is underway.

Dino Mitrokostas, the owner of Dino’s Sports Bar in Mashpee, started the Light the Way JS Fund in memory of 13-year-old Jeremiah Smith.

In a tragic accident on March 1, Mitrokostas’s vehicle struck and killed Smith at Quinaquisset Avenue and Orchard Road in Mashpee around 8:30 p.m.

Following an investigation, police determined Smith was wearing dark clothing and was crossing the road in a dimly lit area. Police also said Mitrokostas’s view was hindered by the headlights of an oncoming SUV.

Mitrokostas was found to not be at fault.

“It was the worst day of my life,” he said. “I will never forget that image.”

Mitrokostas said the idea to provide children on the Cape came to him within days of the accident.

“I figured we weren’t going to light the streets up any quicker. By the time we do any street work or sidewalks its three or four years and $1 million later,” he said. “So I figured let’s go for the immediate help right now and itstead of lighting up the road – let’s light up the kids.”

The fund will try to raise $100,000 to provide a reflective pull string backpack for every school aged child between third and eighth grade on the Cape. The backpack will be filled with vests, wristbands, shoe reflectors, LED lights and other items to keep children safe on the Cape’s roadways.

Mitrokostas hopes the money can be raised to have the kits ready for the first day of the 2016-2017 school year.

“My goal is to have them on their desk when they get into school,” he said. “As we go into the fall season and it gets darker earlier every child will have one and then hopefully when they are playing or walking the streets they’ll wear them and we’ll avoid any future tragedies.”

A kickoff event for the fund was held over the weekend at Dino’s Sports Bar.

To make a donation to the fund visit www.dinoscharityfund.org.

By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter

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