INTERIOR DESIGNERS TO ‘SHOP’ AT BRIDGING FOR PARADE OF HOMES

Bloomington (July 2010) -- A new twist to home interior shopping is about to occur at Bridging, when professional designer, Jennie Korsbon of RCC Interiors, will shop at the non-profit organization’s warehouse (201 W. 87th St., Bloomington) on Friday, August 6 beginning at 9 a.m.    

Korsbon will choose furniture and household items from the gently-used donations on the shelves of Bridging’s warehouse to fill the living room and kitchen in a house being shown during the Parade of Homes.

Housewarming parties, hosted by the homebuilder Boyer Construction and RCC Interiors, will be held as fundraisers for Bridging at the home located at 4050 Pipewood Lane in Chanhassen, Minn. Two events will be held on September 16 and 23 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Guests will get insider tips from the builder and the designers for their own homes. Both evenings will feature cooking demos as well as hors d’oeuvres and fine wines from Vino in The Valley in Maiden Lake, Wisc.  A suggested donation of $15 per person will be accepted at the door. Guests are encouraged to bring a “housewarming gift” for the beneficiaries of Bridging, such as towels, blankets, pots, pans, and silverware.

These parties will showcase the quality of Bridging’s offerings for those in need as well as the generosity of its individual and business donors and volunteers.

View Full Press Release (PDF)

The Club Managers Association of America, Upper Midwest Chapter (CMAA) Golf Challenge Benefiting Bridging and the Club Foundation.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Midland Hills Golf Club

12:00 pm Shot Gun Start, Program, Prizes and Silent Auction to follow. For more details, to sponsor a hole, or provide an auction item; contact Char Pfeiffer, 952.888.0745

Event Registration (PDF)

Board of Directors announces the hiring of the new Bridging Executive Director

April 2010

Dear Bridging Supporters:

The Bridging Board of Directors is very excited to announce the hiring of our new Executive Director, Sara Sternberger.  Our Recruitment Committee conducted a very rigorous interview process which included many strong candidates, but Sara rose to the top due to her professional experience, community leadership and open management style.  She is a great fit for Bridging and we look forward to future growth and success under her direction.

Sara is a graduate of the University of Missouri and holds both an MBA and Master’s in Healthcare Administration.  She has held various healthcare executive positions across the Twin Cities, including Vice President at Regions Hospital and Senior Manager with Kurt Salmon Associates.  She also has significant fund development experience from her many community volunteer engagements and her time as a Donor Consultant with the Greater Twin Cities United Way.

Sara is an active community volunteer, serving on the Normandale Community College Foundation Board and the United Way Tocqueville Society Cabinet.  She is a Past President of the Junior League of Minneapolis and remains active with the Junior League Sustainer leadership.  She is a member of WAMSO – Minnesota Orchestra Volunteer Association, the Woman’s Club of Minneapolis, the Zeta Tau Alpha Alumnae Chapter and the United Way Women’s Leadership Council.  She also volunteers with District 197 schools, Easter Lutheran Church and Mount Zion Temple.  Sara and her husband, Howard, live in Eagan with their three children. 

We are pleased to have an Executive Director on board who, especially during these tough economic times, provides expertise in operations, planning and fundraising.  The Board is confident that the future of Bridging is secure and we look forward to sharing more good news with you in the months ahead.  If you would like to learn more, please contact Sara directly at sara.sternberger@bridging.org or 952-888-1183.

Sincerely,

Jeff Urban

Board Chair

View PDF version of announcement

Bridal Shower for Bridging:

On Thursday, May 20, Alexis Thompson of My Talk FM107.1 will have a bridal shower/happy hour at Hotel Ivy in Minneapolis from 5:30-7:30pm with decor and light appetizers provided by Porter & Frye Restaurant. Ivy spa club will provide mini spa services, Patrick's Bakery will supply sweets. Join us to celebrate Kiki's upcoming nuptials!  Bring a gift to the shower to be donated to Bridging.  Full Press Release>>> (PDF version)

Comcast Volunteers step up to assist Bridging in Bloomington and Roseville

1,200 volunteers to serve 30 area nonprofits

on Comcast Cares Day, April 24, 2010

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (April 2010) – The economy continues to tighten its grip on Minnesota nonprofits.  To help during these tough times, Comcast employees are volunteering on Saturday, April 24 to assist many of these organizations upgrade their facilities.  More than 1,200 local Comcast employees and their families and friends will volunteer at 30 Twin Cities nonprofit sites as part of Comcast’s 9th annual “Comcast Cares Day.” 

 From 8:00 a.m. to noon, up to 60 Comcast volunteers will help clear, clean and restock the warehouse and load, unload and restock furniture donations at Bridging, located 201 W. 87th Street, Bloomington and 1633 Terrace Drive, Roseville.

“We are most grateful to Comcast for its compassion and assistance,” said Sara Sternberger, executive director, of Bridging, which provides the economically disadvantaged with a one-time gift of quality furniture and household items that helps to stabilize and improve their lives while effectively using community resources.  “Comcast is a perfect example of how a collective effort of individuals and dedicated businesses can transform a community.”

At the same time across the country, more than 50,000 Comcast volunteers will participate on this annual day of service, which is one of the largest single days of corporate volunteer giving in the country.  Volunteers will paint, landscape, sort food donations, tackle spring cleaning, restock warehouses, and more.

“We are well aware of how the economy has pinched most nonprofits,” said Mary Beth Schubert, Comcast’s vice president of corporate communications.  “Comcast Cares Day is an important way for hundreds of our employees and volunteers to directly impact their communities through service.”

About Comcast Corporation

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) (www.comcast.com) is one of the nation's leading providers of entertainment, information and communication products and services. With 23.8 million cable customers, 15.7 million high-speed Internet customers, and 7.4 million Comcast Digital Voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of cable systems and in the delivery of programming content.

IKEA Twin Cities Debuts Bedrooms for Bridging

An IKEA charity auction

TWIN CITIES-(December 28th, 2009)— IKEA Twin Cities is giving itself a facelift: new showroom, new room settings, and new displays, all so customers can enjoy a better shopping experience!  But before IKEA goes under the knife, they’re hosting a charity bedroom auction. 

For the first time, IKEA enthusiasts will have the chance to bid on a complete IKEA-designed and accessorized bedroom as the store auctions off two room settings in an event benefiting local charity, Bridging.  Bedrooms for Bridging will take place at IKEA on Saturday, January 30th at 6pm. Attendees will enjoy Swedish delicacies as fundraising auctioneer, Karen Sorbo hosts the event. 

Join IKEA Twin Cities and Bridging in an event to kickoff the IKEA remodel and raise funds for local families in need.  Through partnerships like Bedrooms for Bridging, IKEA continues its mission to create a better everyday life at home.

February 1, 2010 - Big Thank You to our friends at IKEA for Saturday night’s IKEA Twin Cities charity Bedrooms for Bridging event.  IKEA Twin Cities are getting ready to give their showroom a new facelift and new displays, but before they did that they hosted a charity bedroom auction with all proceeds from the event going directly to Bridging.  $2,675.00 was raised by the enthusiastic crowd that came out to bid.  Bridging has been one of IKEA’S charity partners since their grand opening and we are so grateful for their continued support and partnership.  Thank you to all our friends at IKEA who helped make this event such a success.

The eighth annual SUBWAY® Bring a Blanket Drive was held Sunday, December 6, 2009 at all SUBWAY restaurants in central Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Due to the generosity of Minnesotans and Wisconsinites, over 380 local SUBWAY® restaurants collected over 10,000 blankets in one day. The blankets will be distributed in 2010 throughout the Twin Cities by Bridging and by other local community organizations in out-state areas where SUBWAY restaurants are located.

In its eighth year, the SUBWAY® Bring a Blanket program is the primary way Bridging secures blankets for distribution for the upcoming year. Bridging gives away nearly 12,000 beds each year, but is always short of blankets to go with them. The SUBWAY® Bring a Blanket program was developed in 2002 by local SUBWAY® restaurants to address the need of families to stay warm during the winter. In the past eight years, the program has collected over 56,500 blankets.

Many thanks to KARE 11 and KDWB for providing on-air support for the collection; FedEx for providing logistical support in picking up blankets at all SUBWAY restaurant locations; and to Donaldson Company for providing volunteers to pick-up blankets from the FedEx locations and deliver them to Bridging’s warehouses.

Congratulations to SatCom Marketing, who won the KDWB corporate challenge with a total of 60 blankets collected. They won a Subway party delivered by the KDWB morning crew.

CMAA Golf Tournament

Monday September 21, 2009, the Club Managers Association of Americas the Upper Midwest chapter held their 6th annual golf tournament benefiting Bridging and the club foundation, at Brackets’ Crossing in Lakeville.  We had a beautiful day for 133 players to join in the fun and help raise over $43,000 dollars.  In the past 6 years the CMAA Club Managers has donated over $115,000 dollars to help Bridging families with the basic necessities, a bed to sleep in, a table and chairs to eat at, pots, pans, dishes and silverware to eat with and a dresser to put their clothes in. 

Thank you for your continued partnership over the years; not only with the CMAA golf challenge but with donated furniture and household items from clubs when they remodel.  Thank you to Tim Ivory and Steve Allen, this years tournament chairs, Steve Gilles and Jim Jennings Auction chairs.  It was a great event.

Thank you to all our sponsors and golfers who continue to support and join us each year for a successful event.  See you next September.

BRIDGING SERVES THEIR 50,000TH FAMILY IN JULY

Celebrating the partnerships and communities that have made that possible

Bloomington, Minn (July x, 2009) – In July 2009, Bloomington-based Bridging, Inc. and Founder Fran Heitzman served their fifty-thousandth family.  Twenty-two-years ago, Heitzman, a church maintenance man in Eden Prairie, accepted the donated crib that Heitzman turned into to a social service agency that takes items people no longer need or want and give them to families who are in need.

At 85-years-young, Fran is still an active volunteer working to help serve the needy in our community through Bridging warehouses in Bloomington and Roseville.  “As Fran puts it, this is not rocket science, but a simple concept that benefits families living below the poverty line.  Three-to-four semis of donated furniture leave Bridging warehouses and go directly into families new homes five days a week, 52 weeks a year.” states Ron Osterbauer, Executive Director.

The thousands of pieces of inventory needed to meet the need of Bridging’s families comes into the Bridging warehouses from area residents and businesses who donate overstock of slightly used or new furniture and household items to Bridging. 

Through partnerships with over 250 social service agencies, clients in need of furniture and household goods are referred to Bridging.  Each agency conducts a home visit to determine the specific needs of the family.  The agency then makes an appointment at one of the two Bridging warehouses where clients are provided a once-in-a-lifetime shopping experience to select necessary, quality items for their home.  Each family receives 20 to 25 clean items including:  household furniture, beds, bedding, cookware, lighting, tableware and more.

“We would not have been able to serve the number of individuals and families we have without the dedication of our volunteers and the generosity of the surrounding community,” exclaims Founder Fran.  “The thousand of volunteer hours and the millions of dollars of product donations from individuals and the business community truly are the backbone and driving force of Bridging.  We could not make the impact we do on families in need without their help and support.”

New in 2009 is a fee-based residential donation pick-up service that covers the entire metro area. Fees begin at $75 and most items are picked up within the 10 days.  “People donating furniture are helping area families in need almost immediately.  The item they donate will be in new client’s homes within one month,“ adds Osterbauer.  “Just as important is the positive impact Bridging has on the environment.  In 2008, over 11 million tons of furniture and household goods were re-distributed and saved from going to area landfills.”

Anyone interested in donating furniture through a residential pick up, should call 952-888-1105, extension 5.

Bridging Collection at Walser Subaru 

Environmentally Friendly Dealership will be a drop-off site for

household items during Earth Week  

Burnsville, Minn. (April 3, 2009) --- Gather un-wanted furniture and household items and drop them off at the Walser Subaru dealership at the intersection of 35W and Cliff Rd in Burnsville from 12 p.m.-8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23 or 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, April 25.

Walser Subaru is partnering with Bridging, Inc. to collect new or gently-used furniture and household items that will be distributed to families and individuals in transition. Bridging extends the life of household furniture and items in good condition by redistributing them to families and individuals in transition, thereby preventing unwanted items from entering landfills.  Bridging estimates that in 2008 over 11 millions pounds of furniture was saved from local landfills.

These opportunities are part of a full week of earth-friendly events happening April 20-April 25 to celebrate Earth Week and Walser Subaru’s grand opening. Subaru is one of the most earth-friendly automotive brands, thanks in part to the zero-landfill automotive assembly plant in Indiana, and the fact that they also offer the most fuel efficient All-Wheel Drive vehicles in America. 

Other events taking place during the week include a free car seat clinic, RAGOM dog wash, tours of the facility with the LEED engineer, healthy food fair and more.

Walser Subaru has applied to be LEED certified and if awarded, Walser Subaru will be the first LEED certified Subaru dealership in the United States and the Minnesota’s first LEED certified automobile dealership.

PDF version available of Press Release.

Winter 2009 - Bridging Featured in Local Media

>Read the feature story in the Star Tribune focused on Founder Fran Heitzman

>Check out the video and article highlighting the succcessful Nativity of Mary School (Bloomington, MN) product drive during Catholic Schools Week, January 26-30, on KARE 11 and in the Catholic Spirit. Thank you!

SUBWAY® Bedrace for Bridging

The Eleventh Annual SUBWAY® BEDRACE FOR BRIDGING, presented by Cities 97 will take place at Buck Hill Saturday, March 7, 2009, at 6:00 p.m.  Teams of four are invited to race down the tubing hill atop queen-sized mattresses. Watch the You Tube video from the 2006 race at Buck Hill.

View photos from the 2008 Bedrace for Bridging.

Event Details:www.subwaybedrace.org

Bridging-Central Minnesota

Closes June 1, 2008

Managing Non-Profits

By Ron Osterbauer, Executive Director

As news of the economy headlines our news daily, non-profits are not immune from economic downturns.  Belt tightening not only affects individuals but also non-profits who juggle the demand for increased services as well as increased costs of operations.

After reviewing our St. Cloud operations, we have decided to  close our Sauk Rapids warehouse when our lease expires on June 30th.  This decision is an opportunity for Bridging to focus our efforts in our twin cities operations where demand is on the increase.  The Operations Committee of the Board has been discussing the idea of a Virtual Bridging, an e-commerce system of service for other areas of the state without the physical start up costs, leasing of space and staffing of additional facilities. 

On average, our Central Minnesota facility was serving 10 to 12 families per week.  Central Minnesota was Bridging’s first attempt to operate a satellite facility which originally was designed to distribute surplus inventory.  With the start up of Roseville in November of 2006, donated inventory is now redistributed as the demand for appointments has increased to 50 families per week in Roseville.  Staff has developed a plan to increase appointments to 70 families per week starting July 1in Roseville which will be at the same level as Bloomington.  Central Minnesota agencies will still be able to refer clients to our Bloomington or Roseville locations.

This move allows us to continue service to the region while reducing our monthly operational obligations by $10,000 to $15,000 per month.  It also will provide more efficient use of our Bloomington and Roseville facilities.  The delivery service which we fully implemented in January allows Bridging to begin looking at more efficient means of operations which will benefit our agencies and their clients in a time of tightening budgets.