Blog

The residents, staff and volunteer board of directors of Building a Bridge wish all our families and friends a wonderful and happy New Year 2010.

We would like to thank all our donors for their generosity and thoughtfulness. These gifts allow us to continue the support of the people who would otherwise not have a place that they could call their home.

November was a month of a big event: Heinz celebrated his 80th birthday. Hard to believe, given his energy and commitment that he shows every day to the residents, families and friends of the Bridge. It is amazing how he goes through every day, even the tough one, with so much joy.
Happy birthday Heinz! Here are some photos of the party.

Another recent event was out Christmas party at the Belmont house. Amber and Eric decorated it very festive, people brought lots of delicious food, our music group played for us, we sang many Christmas carols and everyone had a wonderful time. Here is a collections of pictures that were taken by several people.

We at the Bridge wish you a wonderful and peaceful holiday season and an exciting New Year 2010.

What a great Halloween party that Amber and Eric have organized and invited staff, residents, families and friends. Some people decided to wear a costume, some chose to stay in their every day clothing. In any case, we all had fun, enjoyed each others company and the great food. The evening ended with an impromptu dance party! Have fun with the photos.

As some of you might know, we have given up our “Ridgewind House” at Locust Avenue. The move and adjustment to the new home was not easy, but after a couple of months, things have settled down. Amber, Maggie and Joan are now sharing this new, old home. Why new and old? It is actually very familiar to us: It belonged to John Hopper, one of our dear residents who sadly passed away over 2 years ago. His wife, a good and faithful friend of Building a Bridge is glad that we are now the new occupants.

Here are some photos from the new house, the people who live there and the time they enjoy together with their friends from the Belmont house, which is close by.

Every Friday during the summer, downtown Charlottesville offers free live music at the Pavilion, vendors and shops throughout the mall.

Both, residents and staff of Building a Bridge use this time to meet with friends, and enjoy good food and music. Here are some pics from recent Fridays.

Despite the current economical crisis, there are many people out there who are very generous and happy to give. That is amazing and touching.

Our Belmont house has a wonderful and very long white picket fence that suffered from age and weather. Over time, the storms had blown out whole sections and the rain and sun had helped the paint to peel of. But now, the fence is in good shape again, thanks to A Quality Built Fence Co..

Jean Alther, Vice President, and her brother decided to donate the repair and paint ing of the fence to Building a Bridge. Thanks so much from all of us to their generosity!

The next unexpected gift came from Mrs. Ann Marshall, long term resident of Charlottesville, and a friend of a friend of Building a Bridge. She donated her CAR to us, we could not believe it! We were in so much need at the time, since two of our cars have given up to function. This kindness helps us tremendously to continue our work for this organization. Thank you Mrs. Marshall for you wonderful support of our residents.

And last but not lease, we were just awarded a grant from the HUT Foundation. That money will help us to remodel one of the bathrooms in the Lexington house to make it handicap accessible. The HUT Foundation, inspired by the values of integrity and compassion, seeks to fund project offering solutions to fundamental problems in the areas of education, humanitarian issues, and the environment. It further seeks to promote respect for others and to develop our commitment to family. A big “thank you” to the HUT Foundation for their support.

The Central Virginia Regional Chapter of the American Red Cross hosted an Adult CPR/AED plus Child CPR lifesaving training for non-profit organization in June.

Building a Bridge has two new Board members, Mary T. Miller and Greg Webb. Please read more about their expertise and what great new assets they are to our organization.

Fellowship, Friendship, FOOD!!!!! … so the invitation said, and … we did not promise too much.
What a wonderful afternoon we spent together; staff and residents of The Bridge, families, and friends gathered on a warm Sunday afternoon at our Belmont house for a picnic.

The weather was beautiful, though we were a little worried, as it had rained the day before and thunderstorms were on its way. The food was excellent; many people brought home made salads, cakes and other dishes to spoil the palate. Everyone seemed to enjoy meeting old friends and making new acquaintances. The musicians of the local group Pickin’ Shack (good friends of Dave) played for several hours. It was wonderful! Thanks so much to them for their support and friendship.

Brett Leake , motivational speaker, comedian and friend entertained us with great jokes, funny and touching stories about his parents, and an important message: Persons with traumatic brain injuries are as important in our lives as we are in theirs! Thanks to Brett for an amazing performance and for being an advocate to our residents.

We thank everyone who helped and joined us that afternoon and thus contributed to making this a wonderful and memorable event.