West Hartford Teen Volunteers Come Through For Community

Bridge Family Center

WEST HARTFORD, CT — A West Hartford-based nonprofit's teen volunteers recently stepped up this holiday season to do a whole lot of good for the community.

The Bridge Family Center's West Hartford Teen Leadership Committee has been busy these past few weeks, ensuring Bridge’s Independent Living Program clients and their children have a happy holiday season.

The committee, comprised of leaders who participate in West Hartford Bridge Teen Center activities, focuses on community service and program planning.

It strives to support the development of problem- solving and team-building skills, according to Bridge.

With guidance and encouragement from Bridge Family Center staff, the group recently held a bake sale and raised almost $600.

Using these proceeds, they then purchased holiday gifts for the young adults who are in the Bridge’s Independent Living Programs and their children.

“We are especially grateful for and proud of our teen leaders,” said Jonathan Merritt, youth services
manager at the Bridge. “They are a group of driven and ambitious teens who reach
beyond themselves to support others in the community.

"Their care, compassion, and enthusiasm are evident in everything they approach, and has filtered into all Teen Center activities."

After finishing their holiday shopping, the committee turned its efforts to an upcoming tag sale that will be held on Jan. 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Elmwood Community Center.

Housed in the basement of the Elmwood Community Center, the Bridge Teen Center is a safe, supervised, substance-free, drop-in center open to West Hartford teens in grades 9-12.

In addition to basketball in the light-filled court, the Teen Center offers billiards, video games, ping-pong, creative arts, and monthly field trips, and some teens just like to come and hang out.

The West Hartford Teen Center is sponsored by the Bridge Family Center, in collaboration with Elmwood Community Center.

The Bridge Family Center serves approximately 10,000 youth and families each year. In
addition to its central office, counseling centers, family resource center, and teen center in
West Hartford, the Bridge also has a counseling center in Farmington, and short-term
assessment and respite homes in and around Hartford County.