HOT STUFF!! 

BUILD IT! - We're creating a teen-driven space for high school teens in greater Grand Rapids - called The Bridge of West Michigan!

NOW YOU CAN HOST a FRIEND-RAISING PARTY!  If you would like to schedule a BGM Friend-Raising Party with your friends, business or a potential funder, please contact us on our contact page or email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and tell us you want to host a Friend-Raising Party!  This is a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation with a Q & A presented by BGM teens.  All you need is a few hors d' oeuvres and we'll set up the rest.

Check out the "build it!" menu tab, above, to see other ways you can painlessly partner with us to Be A Bridge Builder (or donate on the left) and continue the support of these programs and efforts of our young people!

OUR NEW BLOG! Our first blog post is on the "blog" page above and is written by Mario Adkins, one of our Youth Advisory Board/Young Adult Mentor members. Check-it-OUT!!

YOUTH NETWORK NEWS NOW ON THE WEB! The Youth Network News (YNN) is now available under "events" above. Check out upcoming youth and family-friendly events in West Michigan!!

Our Youth Advisory Board is working on more OPPORTUNITIES... They'll be posted soon!

WE'VE GOT IT GOIN' ON:

Academic Achievement -

Bridge to Success(TM) Program:

BGM's Bridge To Success(TM) Program is a comprehensive program that increases high school graduation rates, college enrollment, engagement in service learning opportunities, and decreases truancy among high school students.  It includes: mentoring, tutoring, violence prevention, service learning, BGM's Systems of Support(TM) component, life skills training, student success plans, Strengths Quest training, career development opportunities and college/university tours - and that's just for starters!  We will begin enrollment in this program in the Fall. Space is limited. 

Spiritual Development - 

WHERE U AT? Urban Youth Conference!  Our teens are part of the planning team for this conference that brings together over 250 young people from different cultures, socio-economic groups and Christian faiths to engage in one of the most amazing spiritual experiences of their lives.  Check out what some of the teens had to say:

"It's a time that I can get away from the stressful life at home.  It means the world that I can come to this every year."

"I've been dealing with some family issues and low self-esteem. The theme this year was 'Royalty'. I know that I'm a queen in the Kingdom of God. I was always looking for love. My dad was never really around to show me what a man should be like. I thought that to feel beautiful I needed a guy in my life. I know now that God is my greatest Father and He loves me more than I could ever love anyone."

"This helped me realize how everyone is royalty and we should treat everyone like royalty."

If you would like to support a teen and enable them to experience the God-head in a whole new way, you can click on the "Donate" button to the right and for $75 we can get it done!

Youth Development -   

Attack the Snack!(TM) Program:

Our Attack the Snack!(TM) program was quite a success!  We learned about marketing ploys that try to trick us into buying foods that sound healthy, but may not really be healthy.  We talked about healthy eating and self-esteem, fitness, and identified different kinds of foods and their fat content in order to make better choices. We shared snacks and recipes from our cultures and heritages.  We defined how those snacks are healthy - or not - and tweaked them into healthy, culturally-relevant snacking foods.  We then shared some of our favorites on Global Youth Service Day in April.  We hosted a dance (Festivale de Royale) with over 250 teenagers in attendance and served up healthy brownies, protein poppers and smoothies!  Nothin' like eatin' and then burnin' the calories!!  Special thanks to United HealthCare, United HealthHeroes and Youth Service America for funding BGM's Attack the Snack(TM) Program and to The Dock for letting us run our program at their site.

Leadership Training:

We have a number of our teens that recently went through a leadership/mentoring training course (in collaboration with Wedgwood Christian Services). Special thanks to The Edge for letting us use their space and impact their teens, too.

Service Learning:

Having done this for two months now, our teens will be working again with the Interfaith Hospitality Network and St. Stephen Parish in September at East Congregational Church as we help families move in and out of transitional housing.   A day of caring, love and compassion (and a little sweat).

RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS DAY - SATURDAY, JUNE 19, BGM teens were at the Grand Rapids Public Library doing face painting,  reading to young ones and cleaning the board books - we had a blast!  Random Acts of Kindness Day is organized by Central City Weed & Seed.  Thanks CCWS and Macatawa Bank for the free lunch and T-shirts!

Peace, Power and Purpose for Teens!^TM