Community Bridges was founded in 1997 to empower girls (ages 9-18) (immigrant and minorities) living in poverty, whom due to circumstances beyond their control, lack or have minimal options for the necessary support and resources that lead to an enhanced quality of life and leadership. Community Bridges focuses on the whole girl utilizing social work theory, the principles of positive youth development and popular education methodology through providing after/out-of-school time programming.
The target population Community Bridges serves are low-income, immigrant and diverse groups of girls in grades four through twelve throughout Montgomery County, Maryland. The girls we serve face numerous challenges, including: Structural oppression, social pressures to engage in unhealthy behavior, insufficient family support, high teen pregnancy rates, teen dating violence, bullying, gang involvement, lower academic achievement, and more.
In light of these challenges, our programs work to ensure that these girls have the opportunity to gain the skills, opportunities and support they need to be successful in life. We do this by meeting the girls and their families where they are, providing for their basic socio-emotional and giving them them the tools to identity their voice and potential to become girls who can think critically through the problems around them and take steps toward change.
Community Bridges expects to provide programming for more than 234 girls in the next school year. According to surveys from the girls who have participated in our out-of-school time programming, the following outcomes have been reported: increased pride in their identities, higher levels of confidence in themselves, improved ability to solve conflicts, demonstrated positive leadership skills, and an increased awareness of and interest in attending college and exploring career options.
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Excel file (projdoc.xls).
