Entertaining Angels

Photo by Danilo Rizzuti | http://bit.ly/DaniloRizzutiFreeDigitalPhotos

Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby, some have entertained angels unawares.”—Hebrews 13: 1 & 2 

From Bridges’ inception, the strong link to local churches has been a central part of our design. Even the original concept of Bridges of Hope started in a church that saw both the wide array of resources and the vast needs of families within the community–and wanted to design a system that could better bridge the gap between the two. As a faith-based organization, Bridges of Hope is fortunate–and blessed–to have the support of many of our local area churches.

And now, ten years later, in addition to many other services we provide, Bridges of Hope continues to play a key role in connecting those in need to the resources that can best serve them–and a key role in acting as the resource “specialists” for area churches to refer someone to when they come to a church for help. In fact, last year, gifts from churches made up almost 30% of our donations! Churches were also the third-largest group of referrers to Bridges of Hope in 2011.

Occasionally, we will partner financially with a church to help a family in need, and typically these partnerships occur when they are members of church who need help beyond what the church can provide, like in Lisa’s case:

Lisa contacted Bridges of Hope inquiring about resources for help with an electric bill. She is a single mom of two children; an eight-year-old and five-year-old. For the past three years, Lisa has owned and managed her own business. For the last three months, Lisa’s business had not been turning a profit, so she stopped drawing a personal paycheck and had been getting by in the short-term with child support, food support, and savings. Lisa had managed to keep up with her bills, but when gophers chewed through her wiring and cut power to her house, she knew that she simply couldn’t afford the rewiring, which would cost nearly $1,500 to repair.

Lisa was referred to Bridges of Hope by her church, after she had expressed concern about her inability to pay this bill during a weekly prayer group. During her conversation with a Bridges staff, Lisa indicated that (amazingly) she had been able to budget tightly and set aside a small portion of money to go towards the bill. Bridges of Hope was able to partner with Lisa’s church and utilize its internal funding in order to cover the remaining cost of the rewiring.

An Electrical Contractor was able to fix the wiring and power was restored to the home very quickly, and during a follow-up phone call, Lisa said she was very grateful for the help from Bridges of Hope. She explained that without it she didn’t know what she would have done.

Esther Reagan, Pastoral Associate, when asked why Brainerd Area Catholic Churches has been providing financial support to Bridges of Hope for over five years, said:
“Your [organization] is serving many of the people of our community who do not meet the criteria for other services and [we support you] because of your coordination across several social service agencies, thus reducing duplication of service….We are grateful for the services you provide. It is an asset to the community.”

We feel privileged to serve this community and to be thought of as an asset for churches. We consider it one of our essential roles to help protect and steward our church resources, using them responsibly in order to help as many in need as possible. We also know that in the process, we may be “entertaining angels” unawares.

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How to connect with Bridges of Hope at your church:

• Join our “Faithful Friends” group to act as a key link between your congregation and Bridges of Hope. Email Jana to learn more.
• Refer someone in need to Bridges of Hope.
• Invite Bridges to share about our services during your weekend service, coffee hour, an adult forum, youth group, or other group–or contact us to learn more about how we can be a partner with your church.

Bridges Named an All Star for a Second Year

We’re honored to report that Bridges of Hope has received the 2011 All Star Award from Constant Contact^®, Inc.,–for our second straight year! Each year, a select group of Constant Contact users are honored with the All Star Award for their exemplary marketing results. Bridges of Hope’s results ranked among the top 10% of Constant Contact’s customer base. 

What that means is that YOU put us there! We can utilize Constant Contact as a communication tool, but if you don’t read our eNewsletters, invitations, and other alerts, then we aren’t really communicating with you. So thank you. You are the only reason we received this award; some of the criteria included…

• Consistently high open rates (greater than 25%), click through rates, and low bounce rates;
• Regular contact with your audience;
• Using tools like Join My Mailing List, either on your website or Facebook (by the way, you can sign up to receive our eNewsletter on our website);
• High click-through rates; and
• Use of social features.

It’s so important for us to be able to share with you–our donors, funders, volunteers, customers, local churches, key partner agencies, and community members–about how your partnership and support is helping us change lives, and Constant Contact acts as a key piece of our overall communications, allowing us to do just that.

Once again, thank you for engaging with us. It’s your participation in the work of Bridges of Hope that makes all the difference.

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Here’s how you can continue to be involved:

Visit our website–and sign up to receive our eNewsletter.

“Like” us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Learn more about our work with individuals and families.

The Heart of the Beast

Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy.  You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in.  ~Author Unknown

Common Goods has been around for just over two years now. We regularly count the many ways we have been blessed, particularly with volunteers. Volunteers help us steam clothing; clean the store and straighten racks; paint, mend and repair; build shelving and displays; and help us pick up large items from donors…just to name a few of their valuable services. Last year 250+ volunteers gave over 1,800 hours of their time and talents to continue making Common Goods the great place that it is.

Bill Brekken is just such one of these God-sends. Bill was one of the Bridges of Hope Board Members who was involved with Common Goods from the very beginning–acting as a key player in the store’s start-up; and now, as a frequent volunteer, he continues to be involved on a regular basis. Bill often comes in on Saturday mornings to help with furniture donation pick-up (a deeply appreciated volunteer service), and if no pick-up is scheduled for the day, Bill might still drop by for some Saturday morning coffee and catch-up with the staff.

Bill has also appointed himself to be one of our biggest “cheerleaders,” telling nearly everyone he meets about Common Goods and Bridges of Hope; it is clear that Bill believes deeply that our work is making our community a better place to live.

My (teenage) son Nick recently accompanied Bill on one of his weekend furniture pick-ups. After spending the better part of the afternoon together, as Nick shook Bill’s hand goodbye, he commented, “Dude, you’re a Beast!”–which, to translate from the teenage vernacular, is the highest possible compliment my son can pay.

And if Bill is in fact a Beast, he is certainly one who has a tremendous heart. Thanks, Bill.

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Get Involved at Common Goods:

• Have a truck? Have muscle? Have both? Join the Common Goods “On-Call” list to help with things like furniture pick-up and moving…OR call (218.824.0923) or email Suzanne to learn more and set up a time to volunteer–flexible hours are available!

10 Years Ago…

The year was 2002. Lilo & Stitch won Best Animated Picture at the Oscars; the United States won 34 medals at the Winter Games in Salt Lakes City, Utah; Simon and Garfunkel won a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys; and, most exciting of all…Bridges of Hope was born!

That’s right, Bridges of Hope is ten years old. Where has the time gone? Does this mean we are a “tween?” Well, maybe not exactly, but those folks involved with Bridges since our “birth” can hardly believe how fast we’re growing up. And growing we are! The first year Bridges was in existence, we served about 150 households; last year, we served over 2,400 households.

We started out with one amazing staff member, and along the way we’ve grown into an organization with 15 incredible staff members, including the addition of Common Goods in 2009. What an exciting time we are in: we are serving more clients than ever, we have the best staff around (if we do say so ourselves), and we are operating a successful mission-driven thrift store on top of it all!

Over the course of several months in 2011, we invited key community members from a variety of agencies, businesses and other groups to help us take a look back at where we’ve been and help us look forward to where we need to go in the next five years. Thanks to this dedicated group of folks, we have a renewed energy for our work as we enter our tenth year of service with a clear vision that includes the following four strategic priorities:

• Strengthening families by providing both a breadth and depth of programming;
• Engaging the community in two-way relationships;
  
• Centering our organization in Christ by nurturing our staff and Board of Directors in their individual faith journeys; and
  
• Developing and being good stewards of the resources we are entrusted with.

Bridges of Hope continues to be committed to the original principles the organization was founded on: connecting families to the community resources that can help them thrive; filling gaps in existing resources; and streamlining access to and reducing duplication of services. We are so proud to have partnered with an array of churches, businesses, service clubs, and human service & other organizations over the past 10 years and look forward to these continued relationships.

We have a few exciting things planned for our 10th year, starting with:

• A celebration of 10 years at our second-annual Community Concert on March 24 at 2 p.m. Click here to learn more.
• An announcement of our Business Partner of the Year: Grand View Lodge.  Bridges of Hope and Grand View have a rich history of working together and we look forward to partnering on a few projects this year. Stay tuned!

Lastly, we have some fun 10th Anniversary Trivia for you. Grab a sheet of scratch paper and take your best guess before heading to our website for the answers. See how well you know Bridges.

What is…

• $2,800,000 (Hint: you are awesome.)
• 700,000 (Hint: you wouldn’t want to be the one assigned to remove them all!)
• 36,000 (Hint: we started somewhere around 300 our first year)
• 1,800 (Hint: it was a MOVING experience)
• 650 (Hint: it’s all about the Rockstars)
• 47 (Hint: they founded us and still ground us…in a good way)
• 1 (Hint: it was a brief brush with stardom in 2003, and his name is Mike)

Click here for the answers! 

Wow–an anniversary, new strategic priorities, and our own trivia game…it doesn’t get much better! On a serious note, I am really humbled and amazed with how our community has embraced Bridges of Hope over the last ten years. We still have a lot to accomplish together and there is a place for you as we look ahead to serving the 2,200+ households who will reach out this year. I know I speak for our entire staff and board when I say we are honored to serve this community every day.

Thank you for helping us build Bridges.

A Good Solution for Julie & Hanna

This year, Bridges of Hope added a new program to its continuum of services for families. Respite Services provides a regular break to parents or guardians of children with mental health or behavioral challenges. This is typically a scheduled break at the home of a respite care provider who has been selected by the parents.

But you might be thinking, wait a second–I thought Bridges of Hope already did this! It is true that we also administer Crisis Nursery Services, but there are some key differences between the two. Parents utilizing Respite have an ongoing plan to use the service–often utilizing it once a month, and/or at regular intervals throughout the year (to help provide a break for caregivers of a child with mental health or behavioral challenges). Crisis Nursery, on the other hand, is short-term childcare during an immediate family crisis situation, when there are no other safe alternatives for children.

An example of just such a Crisis Nursery situation is Kendra’s story, which you can read here.

In contrast to the more immediate nature of Crisis Nursery, Respite works this way:

Julie is a single mom, fairly new to the Brainerd Lakes Area. She contacted Bridges of Hope requesting assistance in establishing Respite Services for her 12-year-old daughter, Hanna. New to the area, Julie had no friends or family available to provide her–or Hanna–with a break. Julie explained that when Hanna was 2 years old, Julie became her Foster Care Provider, later adopting her when Hanna’s birth parents’ rights were terminated. Over the course of the next year, Hanna’s behavioral challenges became more pronounced, and she was eventually diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD).

At Bridges of Hope, the staff was able to provide Julie with a list of Respite providers who had availability work with new families. Julie connected with one of the providers and was able to meet them in their home to make sure it was a good fit for Hanna. After working with the Bridges staff on establishing how much Respite would be appropriate to meet Hanna’s needs, Julie and the provider were able to set up a regular schedule for Respite, and Hanna is currently receiving the service one day per month. Julie reports Respite has been a good solution for both herself and for Hanna.

As a single parent myself, I know through my own experience the importance of having someone reliable to call on in times of parenting stress, and I feel so blessed to have an extensive informal support system for the times when I need a break or have a childcare emergency. The reality for many families, however, is that this informal support system does not always exist. Kendra’s and Julie’s stories are both examples of the way Bridges of Hope helps bridge the gap for those parents who may not have many (or any) healthy, supportive adults in their lives to help care for their children in times of need or stress. Crisis Nursery and Respite Services help provide this critical relief for parents who are working hard to raise their children and who need just a little additional support to be successful.

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Take Action:
>>Learn more about becoming a Foster Parent (or contact your local county
for more information).
>>Learn more about adoption in Minnesota through MN Waiting Children.
>>Learn more about the importance of healthy, early-childhood attachment.

Common Goods Treasures Go Global

Contributions by Claire Erholtz, Common Goods Summer Retail Staff; and Jim Nagy, Common Goods Volunteer

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Last summer, several items with origins in the Brainerd Lakes Area made their way across the Atlantic. A group from Timberwood Church took a mission trip to Skoczow, Poland. Claire Erholtz, a summer staff at Common Goods, and Jim Nagy, a Common Goods volunteer, were both part of the team that went to teach English at a summer camp for Polish youth.

One part of the team’s prep work was to plan several different Theme Nights–including costumes and games to encourage the Polish youth to use their English skills outside of a classroom setting. The themes ranged from Cowboy to Hawaiian, and they required some creativity and quite a few supplies.

Claire, however, knew the perfect place to shop–and at Common Goods, she found plenty of gear for the whole team, including cowboy hats and even grass skirts–which helped their entire team really get into the spirit of the themes. Claire was glad the team didn’t have to “break the bank” to get outfitted for the trip.

Jim also headed to Common Goods in search of costumes and props for the Theme Nights but found something extra while shopping: a Duluth Trading Co. duffel bag! Jim was thrilled to find such a sturdy bag for under $20. He and his wife Carol also found several like-new Tommy Bahama Hawaiian shirts for about the same prices as the duffel–quite a steal, in Jim’s mind.

Now fully outfitted, Jim and Claire–and the rest of the team–finished preparations for the trip, packing up their new treasures for the trip to eastern Europe. After coming home, Jim and Claire reported to the staff at Common Goods that the Theme Nights were regarded as a success by all; and moreover, that the entire mission trip was a success, touching the hearts and lives of many Polish youth. Bridges of Hope is pleased to have a small role in adding to the fun and creativity of their trip–and to hear about the sometimes unusual ways that the merchandise of Common Goods is going out into the world for the common good.

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Learn more about how shopping at Common Goods helps local families.