Sunday, November 13, 2010
TO: The Subscribers, Supporters, and Friends of The Bridge
FROM: Nanci Stevens
RE: CONGRATULATIONS!
What a wonderful and fun fulfilled year this has been!
I have been both dreading and happily anticipating this time of year – starting now getting ready for Christmas all the way through Easter – non-stop busy. Never in my wildest dreams did I believe it would be possible to accomplish what we at The Bridge have been able to do. You the Bridge Supporters put 52 children in school this year, and monthly feed close to 600 people. We were privileged to help with building bridges, bathrooms, and basketball courts!
You’ve improved lives, by helping start new businesses, and have started lots of children on the road to a more hope-filled life. Almost all of the Bridge Kids are first-generation literates, and you have made that possible. You’ve sent them off to school with hearty and nutritious food in their stomachs, which has enabled them to concentrate on their studies, instead of the gnawing hunger in their bellies.
The Bridge School Program is about to graduate two special kids, Alejandro and Maria.
They are the first to go all the way through 6th grade, supported by your donations of hands-on volunteering, money, school supplies, and prayers. Alejandro is graduating first in his class, with his sister Maria not far behind. It’s off to high school next year. If they were our own kids, we couldn’t be prouder.
I was reflecting last week on the day Alejandro’s Mom came to us to ask if we could help put him in school. We’d been known to spend that much money on a night out on the town, so it didn’t take too much persuading. No one in their family had ever had an education, but she wanted one for her kids. I wondered then if we’d be around for the second, or the third years. Little did I know that he’d be only the first of 52; all children with no hope of getting into school without the help of you, The Bridge Supporters. I’d like you to reflect on what that might mean to future generations. You are indeed a blessing.
We won’t stop now – we’re on a roll, and expect to see at least these same 52 and I suspect a few more to be properly suited up when the next school year starts in February.
Nothing thrills me more than to see little Irene reading the newspaper to her mother, or Mauricio reading out loud to his baby sister. These children are daily becoming more qualified for quality employment. They will be less subject to exploitation. They will suffer less despair. You have given meaning to the lives of these children, and hope to their families.
I only wish you could experience first-hand as I do the thrill of being at ground level being able to meet personally the lives you have touched with your outpouring of time, talent, and treasure. The world is a better place because of you. Feel free to polish your halos and fluff up your wings. You can stand proud in knowing that you indeed do make a difference!
*Thank You for all that you are, and all that you do*
and…
