Give and Go is Back!
Give and Go! is your chance to purchase the lowest priced Jaguars tickets while supporting The Bridge of Northeast Florida. For every ticket you purchase to any of the Jaguars 2012 preseason and regular season games through the secure Give and Go! site, you automatically donate $10 to Bridge of Northeast Florida, Inc.
In addition, your donation is being matched dollar-for-dollar and sent to fund this nonprofit's project on WeGive.org, an online site to help nonprofits connect with the community.
To purchase tickets through the Give and Go! program, click here
Preparing Teens for College
Over the past 16 years, The Bridge of Northeast Florida, Inc. has provided over 391 college scholarships to deserving Bridge students totalling over $361,000. Most of our scholarship recipients are first generation college applicants who have overcome the obstacles of poverty and now face the rising cost of college. The application deadline for a Bridge scholarship closed on February 24th with 55 students submitting applications.
As our Scholarship Committee goes to work reviewing the applications, we wanted to introduce you to one of our scholarship applicants, Kellene:
Kellene is a cheerful, articulate 18 year old, who attends The Bridge. Like many students who come to The Bridge, the obstacles she overcomes to achieve good grades and go to college are daunting.
Kellene is a senior at Paxon High School in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, a rigorous two year pre-university liberal arts curriculum. Despite living below the national poverty level, Kellene maintains a 3.9 GPA in this difficult program. She has been accepted at Florida State University and University of South Florida and has chosen Florida State to pursue her dream of being a museum curator.
Now in the BridgeWorks Plus Job Skills program, Kellene discovered The Bridge when a friend got off the school bus here every day. Kellene soon found friends, activities and a summer job, making The Bridge her "go-to" place after school.
Raised by a single mother, Kellene barely knows her father. Her older brother is in prison and her twin sister Anitra has severe autism. Anitra's behavior makes it hard for their mom to hold down a day-time job. "The school calls my mom to pick up Anitra when she acts up, so she thought it was better to work at night," Kellene states matter-of-factually.
Sometimes her mom doesn't tell her when she is not working to keep Kellene from worrying. "She still leaves the house like she has a job until she finds another one," Kellene shared with tears in her eyes. She says her mom is her role model and always encourages her to have big dreams and never give up.
It's the caring and supportive staff at The Bridge that makes the difference to Kellene. "Ms. Lolita comes to school to check on me if she hasn't seen me for a few days", she says. "The Bridge is a good place because people care about you and the staff helps to pull people out of the negative atmosphere." Kellene is a natural leader and is a positive influence on other students in her BridgeWorks Plus Job Skills classes. Last year, Program Manager Tanzy James arranged a summer internship at the Museum of Modern Art for Kellene. Working in the museum was a wonderful experience, one she hopes to repeat at another local museum this summer.
Kellene graduates in June and will head to college in the fall. She is one of our 55 applicants that have applied for a Bridge Scholarship. If you are interested in helping a student like Kellene, you send a check to: The Bridge of Northeast Florida, Inc., PO Box 43126, Jacksonville, Florida 32203-3126 and include "Bridge Scholarships" on the subject line or Click Here to make a donation online.