News & Events
Ten years looks mighty good on
AIM Charity/BRIDGES Kickoff Classic!
BRIDGES is grateful for the fans, sponsors, volunteers and partners who made the 10th Anniversary AIM Charity/BRIDGES Kickoff Classic
an event to remember.
That's 10 years of powerful experiences both ON and OFF the field. Because even though the lineups, venues and numbers of
games have shifted over that decade, the heart of the Classic has remained constant - following BRIDGES mission of experiential learning and leadership development the Classic teaches players to be a part of something bigger than their teams - to be a part of our community.
As always, Community Day, on the Saturday prior to game weekend, was a highlight. This year, seniors from all four KOC teams gathered for breakfast and introductory exercises and then headed out into the North Memphis and Binghamton neighborhoods to work side by side, not team against team. And during the Team Tailgate Dinner on Aug. 19, the night before the first game, juniors and seniors from the teams shared a meal, shared themselves and were inspired by a moving presentation by best-selling author and former Sports Illustrated editor Don Yaeger.
The games - Melrose vs. CBHS on Aug. 20 and Millington vs. MUS on Aug. 21 - were well-attended and exciting, and each was marked by an extraordinary presentation. During halftime of the Melrose/CBHS matchup, about a dozen players who played for the same schools during the first integrated high school football game in Memphis in 1966 were honored on the field. And during halftime on Saturday, a specially-selected group of 54 players from KOC games past were honored as the AIM Charity/BRIDGES Kickoff Classic All-Decade Team.
And, of course, thanks and congratulations go to
all four teams who participated this year - you're all champions!
Game 1 - CBHS - 13, Melrose - 6
Game 2 - MUS - 28, Millington - 7
With YOUR help - we did it!
BRIDGES campaign to increase donors by 100 percent was a success! We exceeded our BRIDGES to the Power of 10 goal for a grand total of 592 new donors. With YOUR HELP we've strengthened our foundation of ambassadors sharing BRIDGES story across the city. THANK YOU ONE AND ALL!
Tunisian dignitary praises Bridge Builders
On Friday, May 7 BRIDGES hosted a lecture by Senator Mohamed Fantar of the Republic of Tunisia as part of the Memphis In May International Festival's lecture program. Senator Fantar spoke to a couple hundred Bridge Builders and, despite the language barrier, was clearly knocked out by the energy and potential of what he sensed the young people were all about.
"When I get back to Tunisia and I see my young students, I'm going to tell them that I saw you," Senator Fantar said through an interpreter. "And I'm going to tell them that they should get ready to build bridges."
Fantar is the recipient of the Presidential Human Rights Prize of the Tunisian Republic in 2005, distinguished Senator, award-winning author and renowned archeology and history scholar. He is also the Titular Chair for President Ben Ali’s Dialogue of Civilizations and Religions. The Bridge Builders in attendance presented him with one of the trophies that graduates of the program receive.
Before taking questions from the youth, Fantar asked them if they were familiar with St. Augustine and shared some of the saint's philosophy. "What is most important is to be in love with love," he said. "One must love. If I have one prayer to make it is, 'God help me to be a builder of bridges."
Shirin Ebadi inspires peaceful solidarity
About 300 young people from the Mid-South and beyond 
sat in silence in the Bryan Campus Life Center at Rhodes College recently as they learned the realities of life in today's Iran. "Did you know that the life of a woman in Iran is worth half as much as the life of a man?" they were asked. "Did you know that Iranian citizens are sentenced to jail for disagreeing with their government?"
The youth were participants in the 2010 BRIDGES PeaceJam Mid-South Conference. The focus of their attention was the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi. Ebadi, a lawyer and former judge currently living in exile from her native Iran, captivated the audience with
stories of immense violence in Iran and the frustrations citizens feel
due to their lack of freedom. Ebadi, an activist for democracy and human
rights, is committed to spreading the message of these injustices to
inspire youth around the world to stand up for their rights. Her message
ultimately though, was about peace.
“We should continue in a peaceful
way,” Ebadi said. 
“We must fight for our rights with peace, not
violence.”
Brian Cornelius (pictured at left) from City University School of
Liberal Arts in Memphis had heard about PeaceJam from his friends in the
past but wanted to experience it for himself this year. As he helped
paint an inspirational mural at Lester Elementary School, he raved about
Ebadi’s message. “She inspired me to stand up for myself—not with
violence, but with peace. If we see violence, we can capture it, but
not participate, and use it to learn peaceful manners.”