BridgesWork News
Updates
BridgesWork students
meet new friends for a week of hard work and fellowship in
Troy, Texas
Kicking off the 2024 Summer Enrichment experience for our BridgesWork family, sixteen of our grade 7-12 students traveled to Troy to participate in a week of service for others. In addition to those students, seven of our young adult graduates, now members of the BridgesWork Cross Over group, accompanied the BridgesWork and Ash Lane youth.
At the invitation of Ms. Susan McConnell, Family and Youth Services Director for Ash Lane UMC, several committed adults, including Michelle Pepper, Gerry McCauley, Pastor Lee Trigg, Carla Fink, and Jan Morgan, guided eight "rookies" and eleven veteran youths in their quest to serve others. We made many new friends across the week and soon came to realize that Mother Teresa was indeed correct when she said,
"The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it."
We finished our visit to the area with laughter, learning, and companionship as each team worked together to serve others and build relationships. It was a week we will long remember.
Our 2024 Summer Enrichment Program was Awesome!
The BridgesWork summer enrichment program continued in 2024, with over 150 students, student assistants, teachers, and mentors gathering for two weeks of excitement, learning, and laughter.
Ms. Mel Rothermel (Trinity High School) and Ms. Michelle Pepper (Meadow Creek Elementary) successfully navigated the administrative hurdles. At the same time, Ms. Barbara Borland (Midway Park and Fuller Hearts Pre-School), Miss Ally Karlen (Arlington ISD), Ms. Susan Lamphere, and Ms. Amy Ruby (retired faculty), Ms. Ashley Harris, Ms. Melanie Grant, and Ms. Cathy Rodgers (Meadow Creek), Coach "Dunk" (Everett Dunkley) and Ms. Vonny Williams (Wilshire), Ms. Rita Ferreira (Stonegate), Ms. Tonya McKenna and Ms. Sophie Rodgers (River Trails), Ms. Wendy Bambico (Viridian), Ms. Kristy Paiboon and Ms. Kari Sanchez (South Euless), and "Coach" Michael Boykin (Midway Park) all returned to lead our classes once again.
In addition, we were blessed to provide our grades 9-12 students with an amazing week of leadership development led by several mentors, including Ms. Kay Tergerson and Ms. Trudie Jackson, both retired Carroll ISD administrative staff members; Mr. Ryan Wilson, the current principal of Southlake Carroll Senior High School; Mr. Wes Hamilton, our BridgesWork Board President; and Pastor Lee Trigg of Ash Lane UMC.
Without a dedicated meal preparation staff this year, Ms. Mary Smith, Justin Smith, and Ms. Dayline Burgos Del Valle worked tirelessly to prepare delicious meals and snacks. We were extremely fortunate to have several meals donated by Ms. Dina Ferreira. There were delicious surprises almost every day, including nachos, Frito pie, meatball subs, spaghetti, and meatballs with salad! In addition, the kids had several days of cool treats, including watermelon and popsicles!
Finally, our student assistants for this summer included Miss Eunice Montenegro, Miss Gaby Martinez, Mr. Waylon Shinn, and Miss Carla Martinez.
They continued to be invaluable resources supporting every aspect of our program.
Our two weeks of learning, laughter, and love ended way before we were ready, and we cannot wait to be together again. Our fall and spring Saturday sessions begin October 5 (please see the "About Us" section on our home page for the full schedule).
Follow this website and our Facebook page for more comprehensive information about our programs.
