The year is past its midpoint; which means it’s time to check in on where we’re at thus far with programming and services. As of August 28th, we have helped over 900 households (approximately 2,250 people) this year! Here’s what just a few of those we’ve served had to say about their experience with Bridges of Hope: “I’m so glad I called you!” Amy was referred to an agency that helped install grab bars in her tub and shower for her mother, who had recently moved in with her,

In the last seven months, the Self-Healing Communities Project has reached over 1,600 people in Crow Wing County. In case you haven’t heard, the self-healing communities’ model is designed to build a community’s capacity to improve outcomes for health and social issues by reducing and preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). The project now has reached into many parts of the community; including organizations, churches, businesses, school districts and various branche

The Brainerd Rotary Foundation recently awarded $2,500 to the Self-Healing Communities Project at Bridges of Hope for the development and implementation of a parent education series to benefit parents of Garfield & Lowell Elementary students. The series will include both Love & Logic parenting classes and Parent Cafes, which are discussion groups providing parents the opportunity for conversations and connection. The Cafe experience focuses on building the five protective fac

In Lila’s case, she was lucky to find out about her failing furnace during summer, leaving her a cushion of time to figure out how to replace it before falling temps affected her. Lila was aging and on a fixed income with little wiggle room. She did have an adult son, however, who was experienced in HVAC and freely offered to install a new unit- if Lila could find a way to get one. In the very same city, another furnace went out, but now it was September and closer to winter.

What do you hope for? For the past couple years, Bridges of Hope has been asking this question to Lakes Area residents as part of our fall fundraising campaign and as a part of our community-building efforts. Our mission at Bridges of Hope is to build bridges of support, anchored in Christ’s love, between families in the Lakes area and the community assets that can help them thrive and gain hope. But we can’t do that without you, the community! The responses we’ve received ov

It’s over halfway through the year; a good time to pause and look back on what we’ve done so far in 2018. A quick glance at our database tells me we’ve served over 750 households (~1,950 people) thus far through our 5 different programs; hallelujah! Praise God that there is hope when faced with hardship! I can look at numbers and graphs, trends and changes that speak to the volume of crisis faced here in the Lakes Area; but that doesn’t really breathe light into the ways live

Written by Jenny Holmes & Kassie Heisserer On the heels of announcing a new community collaborative project, Bridges of Hope has announced the addition of two new staff to help support this endeavor: Tom Gonzalez and Amy M. Wyant have been named Project Coordinators to support the Self-Healing Communities Project and will begin their positions in August 2018. Gonzalez joins Bridges of Hope from Pointway Church in Baxter and holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Pastoral M

Sara Jo is a single parent of two school-age girls. She had recently been divorced and was living with her mother, something she never thought she would do again, since moving out after high school. Although she appreciated her mother’s willingness to take her and the girls in, Sara Jo knew that she and her girls needed more space than what they had–and so did her mom. Tensions were starting to run high some evenings, as the girls and her mother struggled to adjust to the ver

Written by Jenny Holmes, with assistance from Kassie Heisserer. Some people run for fun, some run for the free shirt, but on September 16, 2017, we will Run for Hope! Bridges of Hope is honored to partner with the Nisswa Chamber of Commerce for the 5th-annual Run for Hope, as part of the 44th annual Nisswa Fall Festival and 12th annual Smokin’ Hot BBQ Challenge on Saturday, September 16, 2017. The Run for Hope has undergone a few transformations this year! In addition to movi

On Sunday, May 7, over 150 women, girls, and even some gentlemen joined Bridges of Hope at Cragun’s Legacy Pavilion on a beautiful and sunny afternoon in support of the women participating in Bridges’ Side by Side Mentoring Program, at the third-annual Afternoon Tea for Hope. This year’s event raised over $13,000 and featured a raffle, silent auction, games, food, and the ever-popular fire fighters from Brainerd and Nisswa who served tea & coffee, took selfies, sold raffle ti

A combination of the recent stretch of unseasonably warm weather combined with recent weight loss triggered my inner spring cleaner a couple weeks ago. It was a Saturday afternoon when I hit my closet hard and was determined to downsize and donate. Of course, whenever I’m ready to part with treasures; they go to Common Goods. Not only do I love the concept behind the thrift store, I also love knowing that my excess could be of benefit to someone with less. So I decided to rea

[Note: Diane graciously allowed us to use her real name and details. Diane: thank you for your courage and generosity!] It has been 27 years since Diane made the life-changing decision to become, and remain, clean and sober. However, despite overcoming this huge obstacle, she continued to fight demons and encounter issues that tested her faith over all those years. Having been raised in the Aitkin area, Diane relocated to the Twin Cities area where she tackled her addictions

As a single mother of three children under the age of three and with another on the way, Kristine needed help. Her time for self-care and just taking care of the basics like cleaning the house or shopping for groceries was non-existent. Something had to give. At Bridges, Respite is a scheduled, monthly break for families based upon a child’s or parent’s need, serving families in Crow Wing County. On occasion, Respite can be scheduled more often, on a case-by-case basis. Respi

Then one afternoon late last fall Liz called again, and once again I expected to talk to her about why she didn’t need any gas, clothing or furniture yet, but this time, Liz had moving plans! We were thrilled for her. We were able to confirm the details with Liz’s mental health worker, and then things really started to take off. Because we all wanted this move to be successful for Liz, I talked to her about her new responsibilities; such as paying her rent on time, buying gro

No matter what our “loose ends” might be, I hope we all take more than a few moments to pause, breathe, and prepare our minds & hearts to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior. At Bridges of Hope, we are helping individuals and families with more than loose ends. We are proud to do this rewarding, tough, and sometimes heartbreaking work. I want to tell you about one family in particular who is weighing heavily on my mind today. (I’ve changed the details about their

We’re already 4 weeks into our 2015 Bridges of Hope “I Hope” fall fundraising campaign, and we have been blown away by the generosity of so many individuals who believe in the power of this organization–and in the power of how, together, we can make a difference in the lives of countless people throughout our community. As of today, we have raised approximately $18,300! You have dug deep and responded with your heart; and, for that, we say ‘thank you!’ Because of your giving

What does it mean to hope? For some, it’s the thought of building a dream home, or perhaps it’s anticipating an acceptance letter to your son or daughter’s first-choice college. It might be hoping for sunshine on a special day. For others, it means knowing you’ll have a warm meal tonight, the resources to afford a new coat or warm pair of boots for your child this winter, or having somewhere to call after the storm hits. This summer, many found themselves in hope of assistanc

Many of our neighbors were hit by the storm that produced up to 90 MPH straight line winds on July 12th. While some of us had just a few tree branches to rake up, others are currently living in homes with a tarp of the roof, and at least three homeowners have homes that were considered total losses. Bridges of Hope is proud to be participating in a still ongoing effort to care for those in our community who were impacted by this storm. In the days following the storm, we part

It’s been quite exciting and busy around here at Bridges of Hope!  In case you haven’t heard, we are officially open for business at our new Common Goods location in Crosslake! We have amazing staff who are working hard to get the space fully up & running (we were able to get into the space just yesterday). We took our first donation (also yesterday), and I literally JUST received a call from our Retail Manager, Nate, stating we’ve made our first sale TODAY! As you can see in

Do you have great items just sitting around that you no longer have any use for? Have you recently had a garage sale or plan on having one in the near future? If so, we may be able to help you out with some of your left over treasures! If you have items that you feel may be a good fit, we invite you to call us at 218-824-0923 or visit us at 16227 Hwy 371 N Brainerd, MN next to Dondelinger Chevrolet. We suggest you call the store to verify that we are currently accepting items