Partner Showcase: Sometimes $75 is Enough to Change What Happens Next

Bridge icons created by Magnific - Flaticon

hat if helping someone get back on their feet didn't require a huge program or a huge donation?

Sometimes it requires a bus pass. Work boots. A working phone. An enrollment fee. A book for a recovery program.

That is the wonderfully simple idea behind the new BRIDGE Foundation of Santa Cruz County.

BRIDGE provides small grants to local public defender clients who are working toward rehabilitation, recovery, and successful reentry. The organization helps pay for practical needs that can become surprisingly large barriers when someone is trying to move forward. Think of it a little like Kiva, but very close to home and without the loan. Kiva showed how many people contributing relatively small amounts could help someone take an important next step.

BRIDGE applies that same accessible idea here in Santa Cruz County: a small contribution from one neighbor can help another neighbor get past the obstacle directly in front of them.

And small really does mean small.

BRIDGE's donation page starts at $25, with options for $50 and $75. The organization has already raised more than $13,000 toward its current $25,000 goal. That's what makes this idea so compelling. You don't have to solve homelessness, poverty, addiction or the criminal legal system. You can help buy the phone that lets someone hear back about a job. You can help pay for transportation. You can help someone get the basic things they need to take the next step.

BRIDGE officially launches on August 20 at Natural Bridges Farm, in partnership with the Homeless Garden Project. For those of us who believe stronger communities are built when people have real opportunities to move forward, this is an unusually accessible way to help.

Sometimes the bridge to what comes next is only $75 long.
​​