Programs

  • ourBRIDGE Afterschool Program

    Afterschool -We welcomed back 150 students to our East site for the tenth year and started our second year at Pinewood Elementary, where 80 students attend. Our focus continues to be caring for the overall adjustment of newly-arrived refugee and immigrant children in the United States by supporting their English acquisition, socio-emotional wellbeing, and cultural appreciation and pride. Our curriculum was developed in house with these goals at its core. Attendance goals of 80% were met at both locations and teacher surveys demonstrated that the impact of attending our ourBRIDGE is great for the students. Teachers reported that 97% improved Literacy and Class Participation, 95% improved Behavior in Class, 90% improved Homework Completion. 85% of teachers believe that ourBRIDGE is beneficial to the students and their families. A program evaluation performed by UNC-Charlotte assessed how ourBRIDGE supports children's and parents' English Acquisition, Socio-emotional wellbeing and Cultural. Appreciation and Pride. Investigators found that on a scale from 1-4, the Bridge Kids scored 3.9 for the question "Does ourBRIDGE remind you of the country you and your family are from?". The study also found that a substantial majority of parents expressed that they gained a hightened sense of control over their lives. Parents perceived ourBRIDGE as "instrumental in increasing their quality of life and self-efficacy, while also enhancing their sense of belonging and maintaining hope for the future".Family Support -322 newly arrived immigrant families were supported by ourBRIDGE in FY2023. Families received wraparound support that covered basic needs such as foodand home security, access to comprehensive, culturally responsive healthcare, resources for legal advise, and in the most dire situations, acccess to emergency funds that allowed nearly 30 families to stay in their homes and avoid eviction.Community Awareness and Engagement - Our list of active partneships with mission-aligned organizations continues to grow with over 150 collaborations. We have hosted or organized 16 community events, including our biggest ever Internationa Fall Festival, which drew over 1500 people representing countries from all over the world.
    Geographies
    Not indicated
    Dates
    Sep 1, 2023 – Aug 31, 2024
    Source
    990
    No causes provided
    No populations provided
    –
    $1.8M

  • Program 1 [2025]

    In 20242025, ourBRIDGE welcomed 150 returning students at our East site, marking our 12th year of operation, and 100 students at Pinewood Elementary in our fourth year at that location. Our curriculum, developed in-house, supports newly arrived immigrant and refugee children through English acquisition, socio-emotional development, and cultural pride. Attendance goals of 80% were met at both sites. Teachers reported that 97% of students improved literacy and class participation, 95% improved classroom behavior, and 90% improved homework completion. Additionally, 85% of teachers reported that ourBRIDGE is beneficial to both students and their families.An external evaluation conducted by UNC Charlotte found that students scored an average of 3.8 out of 4 in response to the question, Does ourBRIDGE remind you of the country you and your family are from? The evaluation also found that parents experienced increased self-efficacy, a greater sense of control over their lives, and a stronger sense of belonging, with families describing ourBRIDGE as instrumental in improving their quality of life and maintaining hope for the future.In 2025, ourBRIDGEs Family Support Team managed a caseload of over 350 newly arrived immigrant families through wraparound services addressing healthcare access, academic support, English acquisition, legal resources, and food insecurity. In the most urgent cases, emergency assistance enabled nearly 102 families to remain housed and avoid eviction. Additionally we supported thousands of families addressing food insecurity through grocery and household distribution. Our Community Engagement team maintained over 90 active partnerships with mission-aligned organizations and hosted or co-hosted over 30 community events/workshops. This included our largest International Fall Festival to date, which welcomed over 2,000 attendees, representing cultures from around the world.
    Geographies
    Not indicated
    Dates
    Sep 1, 2024 – Aug 31, 2025
    Source
    990
    No causes provided
    No populations provided
    –
    $1.8M