World Wide Technology, an international company headquartered in St Louis MO, is responding to COVID-19 by matching up to $5,000 in donations to non-profits engaged in COVID-19 relief efforts. Our response to the pandemic has been to serve food to the greater Valdosta, GA area where food insecurity is a huge issue (more than 18,000 go to bed hungry in our county every night). Today we have given over 70,000 meals to the community! Today kicks off the Great Food Race! An event where you can help us race against the clock to meet the $5,000 match and fill our food pantry for our grocery program! It is 801 miles from the headquarters of WWT to our headquarters so for every $6.25 donated our truck will move 1 mile toward Valdosta! We have 65 days to complete the journey! We are asking for you to donate $5, $10 or any other amount you would like to give and then challenge 3 to 5 of your friends to donate as well! This is so doable with 1,000 people donating $5 or 500 people donating $10 or 250 people donating $20! We will be posting updates throughout the race of where our truck is in relation to the clock! Donations can be made through paypal (info@livingbridgesministry.org) or Cashapp ($LivingBridges) or they can be mailed to Living Bridge Ministry 9302 Davidson Rd PMB 175, Moody AFB GA 31699.
God has been doing big things over the last year and a half. We had been needing a permanent, centralized headquarters for Living Bridges Ministry after operating for first five years without our own space. We decided to move forward in faith and buy a property in June 2019 that had large enough space to house all our ministry programs within Valdosta's Historic District. The old building needed many repairs and a gigantic effort to fix up. We have been systematically working to renovate such as building a handicap ramp, repainting the house, replacing and refinishing flooring, replacing a heater unit, building mounted hanging racks for clothes, and many more projects.
The Lord continues to work to bring the pieces together, and we are so grateful for the support of our charitable donors and the volunteers who have helped make this endeavor possible. We are thrilled at how different groups and volunteers continue to join in the effort to build and renovate the Community Center. With this new headquarters, not only do all of our current programs benefit from the space, but God is also opening opportunities for additional new ministry programs. We continue to seek support in paying for our building as well as other necessary repairs. Please
continue to prayerfully consider supporting us as we persist in showing the love of Christ to our community. Living Bridges is an IRS approved 501c3 non profit, so all donations made to the ministry are tax deductible. Please keep praying for us during this exciting time!
(Photo of a living bridge in India)
(Photos of the Living Bridges Ministry Community Center)
A living bridge like the one pictured above is grown by weaving tree roots from a tree on one side of a river with roots from a tree growing on the other side of the river, a common practice in India. It can take 15-20 years to grow living bridges, but once completed, they serve to benefit many generations! We chose this name for our ministry because we are believe that God is using us to come alongside those who live in low income and poverty to grow and weave the roots of change here in Valdosta, enabling those we serve to break the poverty cycle and improve the quality of life for themselves and their families. For five years we have served, running our 10 programs and events in borrowed spaces, making our office in our home, and storing donations in our home, garage, and other donated and purchased storage areas.
In effort to better serve the needs of our clients and accommodate most of our programs, we have recently purchased a 4000 square foot home in Valdosta's Historic District (pictures of the property above). We are excited at the possibility to have the freedom and flexibility to facilitate many of our programs in our own space. We have many renovation projects and repairs to make on the property, but this opportunity is certainly an answer to prayer. We are looking for partners to join us in this ministry effort through financial support. Every donor is important to us and we aim to recognize all donors who help us to grow this ministry. We could not effectively serve our community without the generosity of our donors.
Below are some of the ways those funds will be used toward securing our building and supporting our programs:
-
$5,000 (or monthly donation of $500 for a year) - purchases supplies to repair porch, $500 mostly covers our electric bill for a month, can buy new flooring for hallways and stairwell, helps with repairs, pays down loan for building.
-
$2,500 (or monthly donation of $250 for a year) - buys a stove and refrigerator for the kitchen, buys paint for interior/exterior, buys food for a Kid's Connection Saturday.
-
$1,000 (or monthly donation of $100 for a year) - purchases food bags and/or books for our Transformations program, purchases food for our healthy eating and cooking classes, and purchases a craft project for Kid's Connection.
-
$500 (or monthly donations of $50 for a year) - pays for literature for Transformations classes, buys painting supplies for interior repainting.
-
$50 (single donation) - buys snacks for a Mom's Connection or a dinner for Transformations class.
We welcome your financial support at whatever amount God lays on your heart. Please know that you are a blessing to this ministry, to us, and to those we serve! For information about donating, please contact info@livingbridgesministry.org or click the donate button. Thank you!