National Volunteer Week 2011

National Volunteer Week is from April 10-16th this year. The theme is "Celebrating People in Action," to honoring the individuals who dedicate themselves to taking action and solving problems in their communities. To commemorate this week of volunteer recognition, The Bridge will be working with the Community TeamWorks (CTW) group from Goldman Sachs on May 11th to begin planting in the Upper East Side residence Urban Garden in Manhattan.

CTW is Goldman Sachs’ volunteer program that allows each employee one day away from work to volunteer on a team-based project with a nonprofit organization. They will be joining The Bridge Horticultural Team to plant a fruit tree, transplant seedling, ready plant beds and prepare a celebratory lunch featuring the herbs and vegetables being planted.

Here at The Bridge we are very excited to welcome the CTW team and celebrate National Volunteer Week. We encourage all types of volunteering. Some of the main areas for people to volunteer with The Bridge are teaching a skill to our clients, like using the computer or cooking, and leading social or recreational activities, like a trip to a museum or residence activities. For information about volunteering please contact Ann Hyatt, Director of Development and External Relations, at ahyatt@thebridgeny.org. or call 212-663-3000, ext. 379.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation: Reflection of a Summer Intern

The following post is a written by one of our summer interns, Isaiah Bartlett.

Isaiah (pictured in the middle) saying farewell to some of our clients and staff.

It is hard to believe that my summer has come to end an end when it feels like yesterday was my first day working at The Bridge. As many first days are, mine was one filled with nervousness, excitement, and uncertainty. My previous social work experience was at The Ali Forney Center where I provided case management services to homeless LGBT adolescents for my internship at New York University Silver School for Social Work. I was confident in my knowledge of homelessness and the barriers faced by this population, but I was unsure of how my experience with adolescents would prepare me for working with adults diagnosed with severe and persistent mental illnesses. Fortunately, I quickly learned that my past social work resume wasn’t what was important to the clients.

My experience working at The Bridge has been so overwhelming positive that I feel the best way to summarize my time spent here is with a story of something I refer to as a “Bridge moment.” It’s at least 95 degrees outside and Lindsay, another summer staff member, and I have just spent the past two hours touring The Bronx Zoo with clients. We are all exhausted and disappointed that we have to leave without getting to see all the animals. I’m walking with a client who has faithfully attended all of our summer trips, he’s telling me about his participation in a bird watching organization and how he’s always loved animals. He keeps his head down when he speaks and his hands remain firm on his hips; his mannerisms in contrast to the joy he’s expressing. He turns to me and tells him how meaningful the trip to the zoo has been and how important it has been for him to reconnect with nature. I stop him mid-sentence and point to giraffes in the distance; we were all convinced we would have to leave the zoo without seeing them. The client looks up at me, smiles, and returns to walking quietly with his head down. I wipe the sweat from my brow and realize that this is why I’m at The Bridge, that this is why we do summer trips; the clients are so much more than their mental illnesses, that they connect, that they smile, and they experience happiness, even if is expressed in ways that are at times difficult to recognize.

My summer was full of moments like this, Bridge moments, and because of this, I will always remember incredible staff and clients who made these memories possible.

Picnic in the Park

On Thursday, August 5, Bridge clients and staff were able to break out of our normal routine and go on a picnic in Riverside Park!

Picnic in the Park Photo Album

Feel free to scroll through the pictures from our picnic.

The day started around 11:00am with activities lead by our volunteers including softball, basketball, board games, soccer, football, card tournament and a walk in the park. There were over 100 clients and staff who participated throughout the day’s activities. Lunch couldn’t come soon enough after playing in the summer heat! Sydell Bryant, the Director of Food Services and our food services team made us a fantastic meal including fried chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, and macaroni salad. Everyone scattered across the park to find shade and enjoy their meal with friends, volunteers and coworkers.

After everyone ate and rested, the second half of the picnic was dedicated to a scavenger hunt created by our Executive Director, Dr. Peter Beitchman. There were six teams who had to complete 11 tasks ranging from collecting three different kinds of leaves found in the park and getting a copy of The Metro Newspaper to reciting The Pledge of Allegiance. The winners shocked us all by completing the tasks in 15 minutes! After the rest of the teams returned and recited The Pledge of Allegiance to Dr. Beitchman, we ate the much anticipated dessert – strawberry shortcake! While we enjoyed our delicious dessert, Dr. Beitchman awarded the winners of the scavenger hunt and card tournament with their prizes and thanked our volunteers.

The picnic was a success as it gave everyone at The Bridge a chance to be active, interact in a different environment and create new friendships. Sometimes a little fresh air is what the mind and body needs!

The Bridge Kicks Off Volunteer Program

This week marks the 37th annual National Volunteer Week proclaimed by the White House in 1974. Since then every president as well as governor, mayor and other elected officials have supported and endorsed the week focused on volunteerism.

“National Volunteer Week is about taking action and encouraging individuals and their respective communities to be at the center of social change—discovering and actively demonstrating their collective power to foster positive transformation” states Points of Light Institute, a coordinating organization of the event.

On Tuesday, April 20th we held a Happy Hour at Red Sky that kicked off our volunteer program. Friends of our board and staff joined us to learn about upcoming volunteer opportunities at The Bridge. Even though times are tough, the demand to serve and support consumers in our community remains – and we need your help.

We welcome various skills and talents to work with either clients or staff. Some of the opportunities to volunteer with clients include gardening, resume writing, computer training, photography, and money management. We are also looking for volunteers to work with our staff in finance, human resources, fundraising/event planning, marketing and information technology. Volunteer opportunities are available in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens, 7 days a week including evenings, weekends and holidays. We will be holding a Volunteer Orientation at The Bridge on Wednesday, May 12 from 6:30 – 8:30pm where people can learn more about our volunteer program. Click here to download the Volunteer Orientation flier.

To RSVP contact Stan Bennett at sbennett [a] thebridgeny.org or call him at 212-663-3000, ext. 321. If you are unable to make this date, but are interested in volunteering, contact Stan.

ALL ARE WELCOME!