I had a great chat with one of the students. There happened to be a couple of lamps dropped off for the lounge in the arts space so we got to talking as he carried one up the stairs. His jaw dropped when he saw the new arts space. The stage in the corner, couches to chill on… Immediately he say this place as a place to be in and invite friends. He told me of his friends who jam lots together, but would sound a whole lot better in our new space. I shared of some dreams to have open stage stuff, talent shows, coffee house style stuff.
This youth was there when I first started talking about opportunities for youth. He was pumped when we brought in the hockey gear and pool table a year ago. And knows, this is a place where he wants to come. Ending his afternoon boxing and playing baseball on the Wii. And took lots of info cards to give to his friends.
It was an incredible night at The Bridge this past Friday. Nintendo Wii was a huge on the big screen. Super Smash Brothers is an interactive game that allowed 4 youth to play together. This adventure game is incredible and having it on a nearly 8foot by 8foot screen was cool, ’sick’ as you would say today. And of course, my favorite, boxing, now it is actually as if you are boxing someone.
The multi-player games are great for interaction with the youth. As they are playing, dialogue actually happens. Each week, youth leave saying they need to tell others about this place. It has become a regular hang out for many.
Great things are happening at The Bridge. Several people came by last Saturday to help out around The Bridge and we accomplished lots. Build a stage/riser for the arts space and painted it. Picked up a ping-pong table and moved tables around. Installed the new projector and sound system and ran lots of speaker wire for both rooms. Then on Monday, I was able to get a student to help me finish setting up the arts space. He had a good incentive as he it counts for his community hours.
It is a such a blessing to have others involved and so much more can be accomplished. As the word gets out there, people are responding. Just received two more couches for the lounge in the arts space.
We continue to see incredible support for The Bridge. People continue to be interested in volunteering during drop-ins and other program nights. It is our volunteer staff that are the heart and soul of The Bridge. The relationships forming are great. I had one volunteer this week engage two youth in conversation for the good part of an hour.
Partnerships continue to form with community organizations. I had the opportunity to speak with the Haliburton Rotary Club last week. It was great to create awareness of The Bridge. They presented me with a donation. After I spoke, a local businessman invited me to come by His store and pick out some lamps. The lamps will be used in our new arts space and lounge. Yesterday I spoke with a women from the Eagle Lake Women’s Society and they have a basketball post and net to give us. And it continues.
It is great to have a presence in the community and begin to see lives impacted.
This past Friday was a wonderful evening to get to know one another. All of The Bridge volunteers gathered for dinner and hang out time. Lots of laughter and friendships were growing. People got to interact and meet one another. In having two programs at different times and 4 training nights, many people had not yet met.
It was a night off so to speak in terms of hanging with the youth, but a key time to grow as a team. We spent much of the evening telling stories of our encounters with a youth. We ended the evening with a summer dream plan we are putting together.
I appreciate this team so much and know that they are making a difference. The stories are the proof of it. Lives are being changed as we live out our philosophy.
Today at The Bridge Youth Centre I had a good conversation about marriage. I find it interesting what the view of marriage is nowadays. Marriages are under so much strain. Got to share about the commitment of marriage and my own marriage. It was a great conversation that I was able to engage while chatting over a game of pool.
