PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY BRIDGES USA
A few blocks from the heart of Downtown, in an ultra-modern structure near the campus of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a group of young men and women sit around a table discussing public policy issues. This group does not pay property taxes; none of them is even old enough to rent a car, but that doesn’t matter. They all share the common goal of improving lives in their community through the nonprofit organization, BRIDGES USA.
More commonly referred to simply as BRIDGES, the organization works to give youth around the city more knowledge and access to social justice and public policy work; its mission is to “unite and inspire diverse young people to become confident and courageous leaders committed to community transformation.” BRIDGES began in 1962 as Youth Service, a branch of Catholic Charities of Memphis. In 1988, the group launched its flagship mentoring program, Bridge Builders, and fully adopted the BRIDGES USA moniker in 1996.
“There is something that is really special about getting to work with authentic and meaningful partnerships between youth and adults. We believe really strongly in the power in youth voice, and not just because they are the hope for the future or because they are leaders of tomorrow.” — Lindsey Butler
“BRIDGES is a youth-serving organization that is focused on uniting and inspiring diverse youth leaders to become confident and courageous leaders that can change their communities,” says Lindsey Butler, director of communications. “For more than 30 years, we have been working with youth on ways to strengthen community, strengthen ties with one another, get people out of their bubble, and get them talking and forming meaningful relationships with people that they would not normally talk to.”
BRIDGES, through its Bridge Builders program, is split into three different tracks that are centered around giving students in grades 6–12 different methods to interact through social activism. The first program is called Bridge Builders CONNECT. Facilitated by its AmeriCorps members, CONNECT uses onsite workshops and training sessions to help tackle meaningful topics, discover their personal strengths, and identify how they can make their community stronger.
“Before COVID-19, when we could do these things we would go into schools and do workshops on-site,” says Butler. “Usually, it would begin with a teacher or administrator contacting us with an interest in helping their class collaborate better, or they wanted us to teach their students ways they could get involved in their community that are not always obvious.”
With the shift to online classes due to COVID-19, Bridges has moved some of its experiential learning opportunities online. “We have facilitators that would go into classrooms, and now we’re trying to leverage that online,” explains Butler. “We have a lot of opportunities through the connect workshops where youth get an opportunity to walk in someone else’s shoes and gain a little more perspective about themselves and their city.”
The flagship program, however, is Bridge Builders COLLABORATE, a five-day summer conference that leads into six training sessions throughout the year. The goal: that students develop confidence and competence in their leadership, diversity appreciation, and community engagement abilities.
“COLLABORATE is probably the one people know the most about,” says Butler. “That one is tied into our summer programming, but doesn’t end with that. COLLABORATE starts out as a week of immersive learning, where youth are purposely paired up in different groups with people that don’t necessarily look alike or come from the same background. We had people of different faiths, different races, and genders. Our goal as an organization is that our Bridge Builders are proportionally representative of the city itself.”
The COLLABORATE summer conference gives students in grades 7–12 access to tools and fun activities that are tailor-made to help them learn about diversity, equity, and inclusion, but it also teaches them what it means to be active in the community and how to interact with those around them. BRIDGES also does a “Memphis Tour,” which takes students to cultural landmarks and museums.
“We find that [the tour] gives people a deeper appreciation for the city because it’s really easy to sit back and say, ‘Here’s all these things that are wrong with Memphis and here’s what’s not working,’” says Butler. “But I think it takes a true love and passion to dive in and learn about the city, and when they do, people discover things that they love about it that they never would have come across.”
When the summer program concludes, students gain the opportunity to participate in outreach activities and electives, spanning wellness and self-care to virtual yoga classes, throughout the school year.
CHANGE is the third piece of BRIDGES’ signature programs, open to graduates of the COLLABORATE program. CHANGE, which recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary, provides the chance for students in BRIDGES to work directly with public policymakers. Each year there are spots for 30 students, who are paid for their time in the program.
“For Bridge Builders that have been through COLLABORATE and loved dipping their toes into the water of getting busy and active in the community, we have CHANGE, paid fellows who do project and research work in potential areas where they want to see change,” says Butler.
Members of the Bridge Builders CHANGE program were instrumental in the creation of the Brave, Safe, and Educated program, which sought to create spaces around the city that were welcoming to people of all identities. Members researched and produced guidelines that businesses around the city could use to gain certification as a welcoming and inclusive space. The Brave, Safe, and Educated program is ongoing, and recently helped The Orpheum, Archer Malmo, and Girls Inc. undergo sensitivity training.
CHANGE’s work extends beyond businesses as well. Their newest component, Iconic, which will be rolled out in 2021, looks to move sensitivity training into the classroom.
To Butler, BRIDGES is a special place, and she says that the relationships she is able to forge with students is what keeps her and her colleagues coming back.
“There is something that is really special about getting to work with authentic and meaningful partnerships between youth and adults,” she says. “We believe really strongly in the power in youth voice, and not just because they are the hope for the future or because they are leaders of tomorrow. Those things are true, but the youth are powerful change-makers today, and are already doing the work. We see our role as supporting their work and making sure people are listening to them.”
To get involved, visit bridgesusa.org.
