BridgeBuilders KIDS
Nelson Ward
The Big Little Impact of Art

We aim to create spaces to celebrate our kids and facilitate a positive experience with creativity, which is made possible with the Dallas Museum of Art as an enrichment partner. DMA art experts came in to host a 3-week pop-up with hands-on art education and experience. They also guided the kids on a personal tour of the DMA and helped make a showcase at Bonton Farms where families, friends, and the community could view their artwork.

The Big Little Impact of Art

I Got Your Back

IMG_2273.jpg

The last day of summer can be a touch bittersweet, yet it comes with the anticipation of a new school year starting. More than that, it means the families of Bonton get the opportunity to be a part of our annual I Got Your Back event and finish their summer in excitement!

Through God’s provision and the generosity of our supporters, 200 kids in Bonton received backpacks loaded with essentials to take on their school year: notebooks, folders, pens, pencils, paper, toiletries- all they need to ensure they’re prepared for classes.

Since it was the last event of the summer, we made sure it was a big event, replete with hamburgers and hot dogs, snow cones, a DJ spinning all the hits, barbers dealing out fades, as well as nail-polishers and face-painters making everyone look amazing!

Our hope for I Got Your Back is to bless the kids of this community and empower them to become impactful leaders as they grow up. These kids have tremendous potential, and these school supplies will hopefully serve as a token of all our belief in them and help them achieve their goals.

We’re so grateful for all the help we received from Prestonwood Baptist Church, Campisi’s Restaurant, Mercy Street Dallas, and all of you that donated toward this event. Thank you so much for supporting the children of Bonton and making this happen.

Would you consider supporting the continued mission at BridgeBuilders? You can do so at this link! Thank you for your faithful prayers and generous support.

Job Training Program

On an average day this July at our Executive Office, we’re visiting our neighbors in the community, hosting guests for tours, and working behind the scenes to support the work done one mile down the road in the Recreation Center, but now we get to add the welcome sound of job training participants in our office conference room! And just this past week, we saw four of them graduate from our program. 

BridgeBuilders’ Job Training Program is designed to help job seekers improve their skills and move toward gainful employment. On top of career preparation, we provide financial literacy training and engage our trainees on a personal level to grow their mental and spiritual health.

Some words from a recent graduate humbled me as she said, “through this whole experience I feel like I’m a chosen one. My mind doesn’t have to be stuck in a shelter life. I feel better about myself every day!” She expressed a desire to one day become a motivational speaker, and we're already motivated by what she had to say about her new outlook on life!

As they complete the program, graduates work with our Job Placement Coordinator to connect with our employer partners to see them through to employment. We remain a part of their journey as long as we can be of help. 

We’re grateful to have the chance to do this work, and we’re proud of our Job Training Program graduates for putting in the time and effort to complete this program and work towards something greater! Good work, graduates!

Juneteenth Celebration Recap

June 2021 has been a big month for us! BridgeBuilders is celebrating our 25th anniversary, and we also held our first annual Juneteenth Celebration right here in Bonton!

Under the leadership of the Bonton Neighborhood Association and through the work of BridgeBuilders, Behind Every Door, Bonton Farms, and Dallas Housing Authority this amazing Juneteenth Celebration became an illustration of the beauty of Bonton, giving the opportunity for all our organizations to work together!

Over 150 people of all ages gathered to enjoy some barbecue and snow cones, hear live music, play games, win from over $1,300 worth of prizes, and even pet some little horses! Parkland Hospital also came to the event and provided on-site medical services. 28 people joined the Bonton Neighborhood Association and can now speak into the future of their community. Dallas Free Press came out with their mobile newsroom, and Dallas Chinese Bible Church and volunteers from Salem Institutional Baptist Church hosted a prayer tent. Clifton Reese, President of the Bonton Neighborhood Association, played a pivotal role in bringing these organizations together for our celebration of freedom.

As we remember Juneteenth, let us remember that we are part of a community together. Bonton welcomes that sense of community as a neighborhood where everyone knows each other. It's such a joy to be able to work with the community to bring people together to commemorate Juneteenth and celebrate life. If you aren't yet a part of what's going on in Bonton, would you consider joining us?

Lukewarm Acceptance

MLK-e1452894625109.jpg

Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.” –Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Letters from Birmingham Jail

If you are unfamiliar with Dr. King’s work, Letters from Birmingham Jail, it may be worth your time to read it today. The letter is from Dr. King to other clergymen, defending his actions against those who were condemning his civil rights activism.

I won’t for a second attempt to summarize what is a deep and intellectual work, but this particular quote jumped out at me. Dr. King is expressing his frustration with those that agree with his stance on civil rights, but do not stand with him in protest of the injustices being done.

He quotes these people saying, “I agree with the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”… and that he should “wait for a ‘more convenient season.’”

The prevailing principle of his sentiment is the idea that we agree with a cause, but we don’t act. He wrestles with the idea that people support their stand for equal rights, but only with “lukewarm acceptance,” and that this is more frustrating than those that disagree with him entirely.

If you’ll allow me the freedom, I’d like to make this comparison to what we do at BridgeBuilders. Many people see, understand, and agree with our work. They recognize Jesus’ call to care for the poor, and our desire to bring the church into this fight.

Yet they stand on the sidelines.

This is sometimes for noble reasons: busyness, family, other ministry responsibilities, etc. But could I challenge that there are some of us who have a lukewarm acceptance, either not seeing the urgency of the need or not understanding our vital role in this fight.

We say it often, but Dallas is one of the most impoverished cities in our nation. In fact, of cities with more than a million residents, Dallas is first in childhood poverty. Numero Uno.

This means that we have the highest population of children living in poverty, the ones who have no control over their economic standing.

We have a calling to minister to the hungry, thirsty, sick, imprisoned among us, Jesus was very clear, we are to care for the “least of these” (Matthew 25). Not just BridgeBuilders, but you…we must join together in the effort to alleviate poverty in our city.

Don’t receive this calling with lukewarm acceptance. Recognize it, embrace it, and go and care for the poor.

MISSION 

BridgeBuilders restores relationships under the banner of Christ by engaging, equipping, and empowering individuals, families, and communities in South Dallas.

Subscribe: