On Friday morning, Board member Bethany Tulloch and I met with a class of 20 first, second and third grade students at the Red Oaks School in Morristown, New Jersey. After showing the BRIDGES video, we spent about 20 minutes discussing the role of BRIDGES in our community, and the services we provide for sheltered and street friends. These young volunteers were excited to make sandwiches and learn about how BRIDGES began.
One of the students had visited a shelter on Thanksgiving so we spent some time discussing how staying in a shelter is not at all like staying in a hotel. People who stay in hotels are not homeless, they are on vacation! The student explained that there were many bunk beds in a small room, and the shelter was crowded and smelly. We explained that every shelter is different but one thing is for sure, no one wants to live in a shelter unless they have no other choice.
We discussed how when people see the BRIDGES truck, they know that they will get something to eat, perhaps something wear and some toiletries to help them feel clean. Equally important, our homeless friends know that the volunteers bringing the food and supplies in the BRIDGES truck care about them, and their well being. We shared a story about how some people even save the decorated bags as a reminder that there are kind and caring people out there, and they are not all alone.
Thank you children at Red Oaks School for an interesting morning!
Amy Cairns Harrison
BRIDGES Board of Trustees
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