,
"We really needed help. I am a single mom (with 4 kids) and times get tough sometimes. We really needed your help and you helped us. We thank you!"
The Bridge Fund quickly stepped in to help this single-parent family by paying for a week of transitional housing at a local motel after they lost their apartment.
That’s what TBF does every day. With your help, we can provide a helping hand when a tough situation or devastating crisis suddenly arises. We receive many letters like this one expressing gratitude and appreciation for our assistance. It makes what we all do well worth the effort. Thank you for being a member of The Bridge Fund Family. Your continued support enables us to carry out our mission of "Neighbors Helping Neighbors in Need."
These last 18 months have been a challenge for all of us. Certainly our daily lives have changed, maybe forever. While no one has escaped the wrath of this pandemic, clearly the less fortunate among us have been the hardest hit by the pandemic - reduced or lost income, lack of day care services, food insufficiency, evictions, utility shutoffs, etc.
Fortunately, TBF has been able to respond to requests for assistance, and, when necessary, within hours. The first six months of this year we approved over 200 awards, totaling more than $200,000. While our awards continue to cover a wide range of needs including medical/dental expenses, transportation assistance, lice treatment and clothing, most of our awards this year have, not surprisingly, been related to food and housing, particularly rent and utilities. It's also gratifying to note that this spring we reached another milestone - we approved our 2,000th award since our beginning in 2013, and we're approaching $2 million of total awards granted! And our administrative expenses continue to be within 2% of contributions.
In order to reach more children in need of basic items, we have been piloting a unique program with the Lee County Public School system. We have established food pantries and clothes closets at several schools that can distribute food, personal hygiene items and basic clothes when the need arises. Managed by the local school social workers, these new programs are proving to be very effective and efficient. We are encouraged by this initiative as it enables us to quickly assist more children in need. Also, our partnership with The Colony Project continues to be a big success, distributing food to students, seniors, migrant families and others at risk for food insufficiency.
We were all disappointed to have to cancel our Annual Celebration the last two years due to the pandemic. We are happy to announce that the Celebration will occur this fall.
Please mark your calendars for the 2021 Annual Bridge Fund Celebration on November 15th at The Pelican's Nest Clubhouse. More details will follow.
We hope that you share our optimism that there is a light emerging at the end of the dark COVID-19 tunnel. We're getting through this challenging period and when we do, we will continue to be there as "Neighbors Helping Neighbors in Need."
The Bridge Fund Board of Directors
Mike Beebe, Caroline Crew, Beverly Haas, Jim Herald, Aileen Kevane, Sandy Mellinger,
Ann Soper, Bob Taylor, Jay Trucks
