Mom & Tot Healthy Play Group

Looking for a way to bond with your special little one? The Bridge is starting their Mom & Tot Play Group in October. The four-week long play group focuses on teaching mothers how to positively play with their child. The group meets once a week on Wednesdays from 1-2p.m. at The Bridge. Children must be 18 months-3 years old to participate. We’re hosting the event in conjunction with the Society for the Preservation of Human Dignity (PHD), an organization committed to affirming the lives of women and families facing issues of pregnancy and parenting. Interested participants must register beforehand and pay the $20 registration fee which covers the cost of supplies and a healthy snack for your child. If you’d like more information or want to sign up contact The Bridge at 847-485-3074 or PHD at 847-359-4919 ext. 13.

Bridge the Gap Walk a Huge Success!

What started out as an overcast morning turned into a gorgeous sunny day full of fun, exercise and community comraderie. Our first annual Bridge the Gap Walk that took place last Saturday (Oct. 3) was a huge success thanks to all of our walkers, volunteers and sponsors. Sixty-three walkers were greeted by Mayor Jim Schwantz at 9 a.m. just as the sun came out, chasing away the clouds that threatened rain. State Rep. Suzanne “Suzie” Bassi kicked off the event and served as walk marshall for the 2.5-mile neighborhood walk. We raised over $5,000 to aid Palatine Township teens and their families. Walkers were treated to goody bags that included coupons, eco bags and a free one-week membership for the Midtown Athletic Club. After the walk, weary participants were indulged in complimentary massages from Castle Chiropractic. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all our walkers and volunteers as well as Mayor Scwantz, Suzie Bassi and Castle Chiropractic. We look forward to seeing you all at our next event.

Building Bridges

The hard work and tireless efforts of Bridge employees and volunteers is definitely paying off! The Bridge is only $25,000 short of its’ $500,000 goal that was set three years ago for the Building Bridges Program. We had expected to raise the money over a period of five years, not three, but now we’re gearing up to reach our goal by December! Building Bridges is our relatively new early childhood behavioral health program. The program has served hundreds of children six years of age and under, providing counseling services to treat behavioral health problems that face preschool-age children and their families. This program is invaluable, because it treats behavioral health problems like post-traumatic stress and emotionally reactive behavior at a young age, before these issues lead to bigger problems as the child gets older. Many mental health issues are preventable or minimized when the caregivers have the proper tools and support, so parent education and training is an important part of the Early Childhood Behavioral Program as well. The program uses individual play therapy as well as family play therapy to help the child express him or herself through an outlet that is natural to them. Be on the lookout for an article about the Building Bridges Campaign in our next newsletter. You can also donate online to help us reach our goal by December by visiting www.bridgeyouth.org/onlinepaymentcenter.htm. Or, you can organize your own fundraiser for The Bridge. Something as simple as a dinner party can raise awareness and money, while you enjoy good food and time with friends. Thank you everyone who has made a donation in the past, we couldn’t have gotten so close to reaching our goal without you!

2009 Bridge The Gap Walk

Everyone at the Bridge Youth & Family Services is busy preparing for our first Bridge The Gap Walk, which will be held on October 3, 2009 at 9 a.m.
The Walk is one of our newest fundraisers and is the brainchild of Jon Schwartz, our development intern. The 2.5-mile walk will be led by Walk Marshall Suzanne “Suzie” Bassi, one of our state representatives. We’d like to thank Suzie for taking time out of her busy schedule to host our event. We also contacted President Barack Obama to participate and received a call back from one of his assistants to let us know the president would like to make an appearance, but unfortunately his schedule would not permit it. While we were disappointed that he couldn’t attend, it was exciting to know that our request was read and taken into consideration.
The walk will begin at the corner of Illinois & Quentin Road in Palatine, IL, where the Bridge is located. Pledge sheets and registration forms are available online. You can also sign up to walk or make a pledge online at www.bridgeyouth.org/bridgethegap Anyone who raises at least $50 in addition to the registration fee will receive a t-shirt and the first 200 registrants will get a goody bag! We look forward to seeing all of you at the Bridge the Gap Walk for a little fun, exercise and fundraising.

2009 Golf Outing

The Bridge Youth & Family Services hosted the Peter D. Cunneen Memorial Golf Classic & Spa Day on August 10th. The event attracted 140 participants and raised $52,000; a huge success! Attendees enjoyed the weather and atmosphere at picturesque Inverness Golf Club. Activities included a full round of golf, manicures, pedicures, deep tissue massages and a gourmet dinner culminating in a silent auction and raffle. The proceeds will provide the families served by the Bridge with valuable resources and counseling. The Bridge would like to thank everyone who helped make the event such a success, including our sponsors, golfers, volunteers, Inverness Golf Club and event Co-Chairs, John Castellano and Jon Mariano. Congratulations to the raffle winner Dave Whitfield who won a 32-inch Vizio LCD HDTV! We look forward to working and playing with all of you again at next year’s Golf Classic. Here’s what a few of our attendees had to say about the outing:

- “A nice event for an excellent cause. Inverness Golf Club is a nice location. Food was great. Service was top-notch. Love the course”

- “I heard many very positive comments from people who have attended many previous golf outings that this was likely the best on they’ve attended.”

- “I enjoyed the food, refreshments and the friendly faces of both the volunteers and staff members of The Bridge.”

- “The day was beautiful and the people were great. It was a wonderful day.”
Thanks again sponsors!

Schneider Electric * Harris Bank Palatine N.A. * Northwest Community Hospital * Harper College * Northrop Grumman Corporation * Riffner Barber LLC * Streamwood Behavioral Health Systems * Palatine Bank & Trust * Cornerstone National Bank & Trust Company * R.C. Schoppert & Associates * All Family Plumbing * Lavelle Law, Ltd. * Lowery Asset Consulting * Wolf Financial Group * Aquarius Salon & Spa * Elements Therapeutic Massage * Arlington Lexus of Palatine

The Peter Fund

The Bridge fiscal year ended June 30th. This was the first full fiscal year since the Board of Directors created the Peter D. Cunneen Memorial Fund. The “Peter Fund” was created to provide training and technology enhancements that otherwise might be unaffordable. Three exciting projects have been completed with donations to the fund:

1.) Foundation Search software was purchased to assist The Bridge in finding grant opportunities and creating grant requests. Through the efforts of our staff, most notably Grant Writer Lisa Hanson- Braun, using the Foundation Search tool The Bridge reached an all time high for this organization in funding from foundations. This success helped offset shortfalls in other funding that resulted from the struggling economy.
2.) Training for staff on Treating Traumatized Children was also provided. Dr. Gene Griffin, PhD, J.D., Fellow of the Child Trauma Academy presented to a group of 52 clinicians from a number of area agencies.
3.) I was allowed to attend intensive 3-day training at the Axelson Center for Non-Profit Management. The “Boot Camp for Non-Profit CEOs” was a valuable learning experience that will influence my work for years to come. The board got a kick out of the idea of Peter sending me to Boot Camp!

Thank you for your support of the Peter D. Cunneen Memorial Fund. It is a great way to honor the memory of The Bridge’s legendary Executive Director.

Gregg Stockey
Executive Director

Thank you to PCSI!

On Wednesday, June 24, representatives from Preferred Communication Systems, Inc. (PCSI) treated staff at The Bridge to lunch and a big announcement: The Bridge is the recipient of an IT Bailout, valued at $25,000 donated by PCSI and their vendors.

Bill Hayes, Owner and President of PCSI stated, “Our hope is that this technology stimulus package will give renewed energy to The Bridge as we, along with our other generous partners, provide extremely valuable solutions and services that will help accomplish their mission, direct more of their funds toward other areas of need, and grow their local communities.”

In the month of May over 500 non-profits in the Chicagoland area were invited to participate in PCSI’s Non-profit IT bailout. The Bridge received the GRAND PRIZE of $25,000.00 in FREE IT products and services from companies such as Dell, Symantec, First Communications and PCSI. Prizes include a Dell laptop computer, monitor, technical assistance, and phone service.

“PCSI provides tailored technology support services and solutions, so non-profit organizations can use technology as a tool that provides efficiency and productivity for their staff which in turn enables organizations to focus on what’s important – their members.” said Vince Arden, Owner and CFO, PCSI. “The Non-profit IT Bailout is a fun way for us to reward those organizations that are in the greatest need due to the current economic conditions and the downturn in donations that they are facing.”

Hayes and Arden, along with sponsoring vendors, presented Bridge staff with the prize over lunch. It was a fantastic opportunity for these donors to meet direct service staff at The Bridge and learn about the services provided and how the IT Bailout will impact those services.

Staff were giddy for days following the presentation. At a staff meeting, they went around the room and everyone opened one package from PCSI and announced what it was to the rest of the staff.

IT Bailout Sponsors:
Preferred Communication Systems, Inc. (www.preferredsys.com)
First Communications (www.firstcomm.com)
Dell Inc. (www.dell.com)
SonicWALL (www.sonicwall.com/us)
Symantec (www.symantec.com)
MX Logic (www.mxlogic.com)

Bridge Day of Action Rally – June 18, 2009

We have to speak up for those who aren’t able speak up for themselves! If we don’t do it, who will? This is our opportunity to make our voices heard on state budget cuts to human services in Illinois. The media and our elected officials can not ignore a HUGE presence.

Take the train or carpool it. If you join us on the train, snacks will be provided!

10:25 a.m. departure from Palatine train station
11:23 arrival downtown
10+ minute walk for the 6 blocks to the Thompson Center
1:10 leave rally
1:30 departure from downtown
2:24 arrival back in Palatine

metrarail.com

If you drive, parking may be challenging, so the earlier you’re able to get down there the better.

Please invite your friends and family to join us. Flyers are available in both English and Spanish.

Please let me know if you plan to attend so I can coordinate accordingly.

Carrie McHaley
Development Director
(847) 485-3087

It’s Easy to Catch Kids Doing Something Right

Most young people make good choices, but we don’t read about that in the news. Fears abound regarding today’s teens; fears fueled by media coverage of the phenomenal acts of misjudgment and bad behavior. We often notice their behavior that is outside that which we consider normal or good, and tend to emphasize that more. Yet lately I’m more impressed than appalled by young people whose paths have crossed mine.

The Bridge Youth Council regularly helps throughout the community and at The Bridge by volunteering. These energetic high school students have packed meals for starving children in Africa, made Easter baskets for sick children at the hospital, raised funds for an orphanage in Thailand, hosted ice cream socials for senior citizens, and volunteered at Bridge fundraisers throughout the year.

Children with the help of their mentors in The Bridge’s Youth Advocacy Program give back to the community by planning service projects as part of their monthly group activities. They solicited donations and made care packages for troops overseas. They served ice cream to and played games with children at Little City, created a talent show for the retirees at Belmont Village.

According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, “research indicates that those youth who volunteer and participate in quality service-learning activities also do better in school, have more access to positive role models, feel more empowered to make a difference, and are more civically and politically engaged.” Not only are young people helping their community, they are helping themselves, making healthy choices that positively contribute to their own self-development.

Next time you hear a story about the bad behavior of young people, remember that young people in your community ARE doing the right thing most of the time. Say hello to them more often, and compliment the good things they do. Catch them doing something right!

Nancy Kukankos
Supervisor of Prevention and Volunteer Services

A Storm is Brewing in Illinois

My wife and I spent a week in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas this April, doing those outdoorsy things we like to do. I couldn’t help but notice the aftermath of the terrible ice storm that hit down there this past winter. Tree branches snapped off by the millions from the weight of the ice, leaving road sides and fields littered with shattered wood. Every day we noticed crews cleaning up, but were told that only 20% of the county’s roads had been cleared of debris.

A different kind of storm is brewing in Illinois that could leave a mess in The Bridge’s front yard. The recession and other challenges leave the state with a budget deficit to tackle. The youth service line items that fund The Bridge are targeted for 10% reductions on top of 3% reductions this year. The proposed 13% reduction in funding would result in program cuts and wait lists for residents who need our help. Please lend your voice to those who are telling our elected officials that “there has to be another way.”

Cutting vital services may alleviate budget shortfalls, but the aftermath can be difficult on everyone, including the taxpayer. For example; our Crisis Intervention Service works with runaway, locked-out, or homeless youth reunifying 180 families per year at a cost of about $2,000 per reunification. If just one of these youth were to land in state custody the taxpayer would pay many times that for his or her care.

The people I met in the Ozarks did not bring the storm upon themselves, but they are cleaning up the mess. If we gut vital human services for short term monetary benefit, we bring the resulting mess upon ourselves.

As always, financial support from caring individuals is needed and appreciated. As the recession frays at the social safety net, The Bridge works to keep local families from falling through.

Gregg Stockey
Executive Director