Dear friends, families and fellow supporters of Building a Bridge,
Happy New Year 2011 to all of you.
The year 2010 was exciting for us in so many aspects. For instance in June, we received a wonderful donation, a Toyota seven-seater van, as we reported earlier. At that time, I told Charlottesville’s The Daily Progress the van was “more than I could have hoped for.” Little did we know at the time just how fast our Bridgers would take to it — kayaking in the Chesapeake Bay, visiting a farm in Staunton, and touring Washington DC and the National Zoo, the Mall, and its monuments.
So, too, the spirit of Building a Bridge has been on the move as we have expanded our outreach with Celebrity Bartending, VSA Art Show, 10-10-10 Loving the Arts, the Day of Caring, Celebration of Community and the Heritage Holiday Parade, while welcoming new volunteer residential counselors from as far away as California and Germany.
Our dedicated staff has provided reliable support and — in addition to what I mentioned above— many happy and fun moments for our residents: bowling trips, birthday parties and the Halloween party, just to name a few.
The year then ended with our Belmont Christmas party, where we welcomed families and many friends from the Charlottesville community.
I am glad to report that, as our economy continues to rise up from the Great Recession, the year 2010 has proven to be one of the most fulfilling years in Building a Bridge’s recent history. Thanks to your year-end donations, we have a good start into 2011 to keep up the momentum and hope to make 2011 the best year yet.
Thank you to all our wonderful and committed supporters.
Best wishes to all of you.
Daniela Ghaida – Executive Director
‘The Daily Progress was able to say “the folks at Building a Bridge are an above average family” because people like you make us a part of yours.’
Photos provided by Amber Critchley and Joan Bullard