Blog & Vlog

Vlog: Meet the Staff of Education and Outreach

By Guest Blogger on May 25, 2012

Vlog: Camp Rise & Sign 2012

By Guest Blogger on May 18, 2012

Hi! I am Julie Perdue and I am here at the Youth Center at Bridges. I want to tell you a little bit about camp. Last weekend, we went camping with all of the youth. We had a wonderful time. We went swimming, hiking, had a fire, lots of socializing, a water balloon toss, an egg toss. It was a lot of fun. But now, I want some of the youth to tell you their experiences from camp. 

Markeese:  We had a fun experience at camp. We went swimming, hiking and many activities hard to list them all but I really enjoyed going camping.

Brisseidy: I enjoyed being at camp. It was so much fun. It was so much better than last year. I really enjoyed it. I hope to go again next year.

Ericka:  This year’s camp was wonderful. On Friday was the picnic, we got socialize with friends. We ate a lot, got to socialize and be around friends. I really enjoyed it.

Emily:  Camp this year was so much fun. I enjoyed swimming, making cakes, seeing the fireman, egg toss. It was fun.

Than:  I enjoyed eating pizza, playing cards, swimming, almost drowning, making cakes, eating good food. I enjoyed it all!

All:  We love camp!

 

Summertime is Here!

By Alexandra Porr on May 15, 2012

Growing up in the north, I marked springtime with my birthday the first week of May. Every year around that time, the dogwood tree in my front yard would bloom brilliant pink flowers. Since this happened right around my birthday, I convinced myself it was a present from above just for me.

After growing up and moving south, the trees and flowers no longer wait for my birthday (especially this year when the trees and flowers bloomed as early as February!). And unlike the north, where children are still in school well into June, schools down here come to a close in May and summer break officially begins.

So for me at least, May now marks the beginning of summer. And at Bridges, summertime certainly feels within reach. We had the Better Hearing and Speech Month Picnic and the kick-off of Bridges’s summer camps with Camp Rise & Sign. This week, the After School Program is coming to an end, and the Youth Program is gearing up for more summer camps. With Camp Rise & Sign, the upcoming Camp Sign Me Up in June, and Camp Jump Start in July, we will be buzzing with youth activities.

The Wellness Program isn’t taking a break for the summer either. June will bring a Men’s Health Class, and July will offer a class on exercising in the summer heat…which we’re sure to have a lot of! The Education & Outreach Department is continuing to work through hard through the summer. On Tuesday nights will offer an ASL 2 course here at Bridges- make sure to sign-up soon!

Summertime is here, so whether you are coming to a camp, a wellness class, or learning more ASL, we’re happy to have you! 

- Alexandra

Signs of the Times of Yesteryear

By Nikki Ringenberg on May 4, 2012

As I take a breath from putting the final touches on Signs of the Times: 85 Years and All That Jazz, I can’t help but remember the last several and how amazing they were. 

Last year, for Jukebox Jive, we had our first auction with a real auctioneer (and our amazing interpreter was ready to kill me for not telling her about the “real” part in the auctioneer until right before the event started), we had our first Friday set up day (which was wonderful), and we had more people dress for the decade than ever!  I think my favorite memory from last year was watching Charlie Montgomery and Glen Craig of Comas Montgomery Realty and Auction work the room and make giving a gift to Bridges an exciting competition (if you haven’t noticed – we’re big on competition around here!).

Two years ago, for Big Band Boogie, we had our first live band (complete with Bridges volunteer Mike Wyatt on drums and some vocals), our first live auction (where the auctioneer received a “call” from Sallie with an offer to make up the bed of the purchaser of the quilt), and our first year at W.O. Smith Music School.  My favorite memory of that year was Sallie’s surprise birthday party right before the event started!  She never saw it coming!

Three years ago, we had Disco Inferno.  It was my first Signs of the Times and there were lots of wigs, platforms, and more bellbottom pants than an episode of “That 70s Show!”  Peggy wore an outfit she had in high school and the rest of us scrambled for our disco finest.  If I had to limit myself to just one favorite memory that year, I’d say hair.  Sallie’s fro – with her actual hair, Tricia’s giant wig, and the hair Tommy added for his costume.

The more I think back to years past, the more I wonder what will be the highlights of this year’s Signs of the Times.  Will it be the auction, the band, the hair (in a good way hopefully), or the costumes?  Will someone bust a move on the dance floor and impress us all?  What do you think will be the best thing about this year’s Signs of the Times?  Give me a call or shoot me an email next week, and we’ll compare notes!