Building Resilient, Thriving Communities East of the River
BBAR 2019 Annual Report
Our Mission and Vision
Building Bridges Across the River provides residents East of the Anacostia River access to the best-in-class facilities, programs and partnerships in arts and culture, economic opportunity, education, recreation, health and well-being.
Building Bridges Across the River envisions a future in which the residents East of the Anacostia River experience vital, thriving communities characterized by social, cultural, economic and racial equity.
Dear Friends,
At Building Bridges Across the River we connect residents East of the Anacostia River to world class programs and services. The multi-sector collaboration we convene uniquely positions us to be responsive to the needs of the community and connect them to the critical resources they need for their families not only to survive, but truly thrive.
Thank you to our board of directors and staff who worked tirelessly throughout 2019 to reaffirm our commitment to residents East of the River, refining our mission and vision to reflect 14 years of growth and strengthening and sharpening our focus and impact with the development of our new theory of change.
Our new Theory of Change also reconfirms that at our core, we are fighting to build thriving communities characterized by social, cultural and economic equity. We do this work because we believe in our community, its possibilities, strength, and resilience to succeed. And we hope that our work inspires this generation and the next with even greater ambitions.
Rashaan Bernard
President
Building Bridges Across the River
Our new theory of change identifies 3 areas in which Building Bridges Across the River is uniquely positioned to build a more equitable city:
Arts &
Culture
Building Bridges to innovative homegrown artistic and cultural experiences in Ward 8
$21,792
invested in local artists by the 11th Street Bridge Park project
85
performances in THEARC Theaters
Cultural DC hosted a Mobile Art Gallery at THEARC, providing unique access to experience art and culture in the context of a barbershop
Economic
Opportunity
Building Bridges to education pathways, affordable housing, and sustainable employment East of the River
1,491
people received workforce development services at the Skyland Workforce Center
100%
of high school seniors in THEARC Theater’s iCAN Technical Theatre Internship program enrolled in postsecondary education institutions in the fall of 2019
96 people completed the OSHA-30 construction training course at the Skyland Workforce Center
Health &
Wellbeing
Building Bridges to a resilient food network and access to urban agriculture education East of the River
128+
people engaged in educational opportunities on urban agriculture topics including herbalism, honey harvesting, planting, and cooking classes
300 families were nourished with fresh, organic produce through our C.R.I.S.P. CSA program >
3
CSAs and one weekly farmers market run throughout the year
2019 Highlights & Partnerships
Financials
Donors
Thank you to all of our donors and supporters for continuing to build bridges with us. Your commitment helps to build thriving communities east of the Anacostia River.
We do this work because residents East of the River deserve the best opportunities.
We at Building Bridges want young people in our community to succeed. And we hope that our work inspires them to return to this community with a disposition to serve—to empower the next generation with even greater ambitions.