Mission
We seek to improve refugee children's traumatized mental health through our mentoring services, to improve their English learning process through our tutoring services, and by doing so, put them on a path to greater social and academic success.
Service organizations, particularly student-run volunteer groups, run the risk of falling into a trap of "feel-good" charity. Bridging the Gap is different. We are uninterested in charity and unsatisfied with temporary relief. Instead our focus is to positively impact refugee children's lives over the long run. We strive to do so by concentrating our improving programs, growing volunteer force and community partnerships around a small group of selected refugee children over many years.
While long-term success ultimately lies with the schools, the parents and the children themselves, we believe our role models and after-school programs can help assist all three toward achieving greater opportunity for the refugee youth involved with BTG.
Background
Almost 1000 refugees, about 100-200 a year, from all around the world have resettled from their native countries to Charlottesville. Many arrive through the International Rescue Committee (IRC), a refugee resettlement nonprofit with its smallest US chapter in Charlottesville. Often, the children are living outside of a refugee camp for the first time in their lives.
The refugee children's ability to succeed in our society is drastically undermined by a slow process of adjustment to US culture, and their educational development is stunted by an overwhelming language barrier. Barring additional help in their formative years, many future doors are closed to them. Additionally, the youth can easily fall victim to predatory and counter-productive influences.
History of BTG
Bridging the Gap has done much already with hardly any financial support and in a short period of time. It started with a few committed individuals informally mentoring a small group of refugee children in September 2006. As efforts grew, BTG developed its first mentoring program, Fugee Soccer. Partnering with the Soccer Organization of Charlottesville-Albemarle (SOCA) and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) of Charlotteville's Family Support division, Fugee Soccer volunteers provide transportation to practices and games for BTG children registered on SOCA teams. Many volunteer groups use the soccer experience to base their mentoring around. Fugee Soccer usually has about 35 children participating each season.
In addition to Fugee Soccer and other small group mentoring activities, BTG hosts large group recreational activities including holiday events, trips to UVA sports games, picnics and book fairs.
Most recently, BTG has developed its tutoring, or English learning, services. BTG has constructed its own children's library stocked with books of all reading levels and other educational resources. The library will be housed in Madison House starting in Fall 2008 and will serve as a location for on-site tutoring and as the central location of our Reading Train program.
BTG was named UVA's Best New CIO in 2007 and Most Creative Project for our library project two years running. John Casteen, Dean of UVA, recognized Bridging the Gap in his 2007 graduation speech as one of the Class of 2007's high accomplishments. BTG has received media coverage multiple times by local publications and was featured by an MTV video blogger.
