What an exciti
ng time of year! Children of all ages, along with their parents, are preparing to head back to school. In our small organization alone, our Development Manager is preparing to send her oldest little guy to Kindergarten next week while our Retail Manager and Program Manager prepare to launch kids into the “real world” as they start college! Speaking of starting college, we had the privilege of working with Mary earlier this spring. Here is her story:
Mary, an 18 year old senior in high school, was about to graduate and become the first member of her family to attend college. This was a very exciting time in Mary’s life, but she was also worried about moving to a new city and the financial struggles that go along with starting college. About a month before her high school graduation, Mary shared her worries with her school counselor, who called Bridges.
A Resource Specialist at Bridges of Hope spoke briefly with the school counselor and then talked with Mary directly. Mary didn’t want to burden her mother, who still had four school-age children at home, by asking for help with money. Mary shared that her step-dad was currently in prison and her biological dad had just re-entered her life so she just didn’t quite know who to ask for help. Bridges of Hope and the Family Services Collaborative at the high school teamed up to help Mary with a housing deposit and application fee for college. Mary was accepted into college and is so excited to be moving into student housing this week!
Speaking of moving and New Adventures (hence the title of the post!), Bridge of Hope is looking for a new home. We are so thankful to First Lutheran Church for hosting us for so many years! In order for us to keep up with the demand for our services and our growing programs, the time has come for us to branch out to our own space. We are looking for a space that will allow us to serve our clients even better!
If you know of office space available for lease in the Brainerd area, I’d love to hear from you! Just email me at jana@bridgesofhopemn.org. Your help is appreciated as we set out of this New Adventure. Who knows where the next 10 years will take Bridges of Hope.
As always, thank you for your faithful support! Happy Labor Day weekend…I hope you all have a safe and fun “unofficial” end to summer. And, good luck to all the school kids heading back next week!
Stay connected with Bridges of Hope:
Read more stories about families touched by Bridges.
Subscribe to our eNewsletter on our website.
Make a gift to support our work with a young person like Mary.
“Like” us on Facebookto stay updated about our moving plans.
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