Multicultural BRIDGE (Berkshire Resources for the Integration of Diverse Groups and Education, or BRIDGE Inc.) is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

based in

Lee, Massachusetts Lee is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, metropolitan statistical area. The population was 5,788 at the 2020 census. Lee, which includes the villages of South and East Lee, is ...

. Co-founded by Gwendolyn Hampton VanSant and Marthe Bourdon, BRIDGE serves

diverse Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce * Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers ...

groups in

Berkshire County, Massachusetts Berkshire County (pronounced ) is the Western Massachusetts, westernmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state, U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 129,026. Its la ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, and other regions in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Services include workforce cultural literacy and cultural competency training, youth leadership and

multicultural education Multicultural education is a set of educational strategies developed to provide students with knowledge about the histories, cultures, and contributions of diverse groups. It draws on insights from multiple fields, including ethnic studies and w ...

, community-based

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

and

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

forums and conferences, and multicultural advocacy. In 2015, BRIDGE received the Berkshire Trendsetter Award for Nonprofit Impact from 1Berkshire. BRIDGE is a minority and women-run nonprofit and is certified by the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

as a Massachusetts

Supplier Diversity Supplier diversity refers to the use of minority-owned businesses as suppliers, and a supplier diversity program is a proactive business program which encourages such use within an organisation's supply chain. Minority-owned includes black and mi ...

Program Provider.

Programs

Cultural competency training

BRIDGE conducted cultural competence training with municipal employees in Great Barrington and

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the most populous city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfi ...

and staff at the

Berkshire Eagle ''The Berkshire Eagle'' is an American daily newspaper published in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and covering all of Berkshire County, as well as four New York communities near Pittsfield. It is considered a newspaper of record for Berkshire Coun ...

King Arthur Flour The King Arthur Baking Company, formerly the King Arthur Flour Company, is an American supplier of flour, ingredients, baking mixes, cookbooks, and baked goods. It also runs two baking schools, one at its Norwich, Vermont bakery and the other in ...

, and Fairview Hospital. During a 2010 cultural competency celebration held at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Massachusetts Governor

Deval Patrick Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was the first African Americans, African-American Governor of Massachusetts and the first Democratic Pa ...

recognized BRIDGE for facilitating public and private sector group work.

Youth education

The organization works with Lenox Memorial High School,

Miss Hall's School Miss Hall's School is an independent boarding and day school for grades 9-12 located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1898 by Mira Hinsdale Hall, a graduate of Smith College, it was one of the first girls' boarding schools established in ...

Monument Mountain Regional High School Great Barrington is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,172 at the 2020 census. Both a summer resort and home to Ski Butternut ...

, Pittsfield High School, Berkshire Farm Center and Services for Youth, and

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) formerly known as North Adams State College (NASC) is a Public college, public Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in North Adams, Massachusetts. It is part of the stat ...

to facilitate multicultural youth programs and educational film screenings. BRIDGE has also worked as a partner with Berkshire Hills Regional School District on

parent education A parent education program is a course that can be followed to correct and improve a person's parenting skills. Such courses may be general, covering the most common issues parents may encounter, or specific, for infants, toddlers, children and teen ...

and family engagement through a grant from the

US Department of Education US or Us most often refers to: * ''Us'' (pronoun), the objective case of the English first-person plural pronoun ''we'' * US, an abbreviation for the United States US, U.S., Us, us, or u.s. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Albums * ...

since 2012.

Public forums

The organization founded the Berkshire County Race Task Force, whose first

town hall meeting Town hall meetings, also referred to as town halls or town hall forums, are a way for local and national politicians to meet with their constituents either to hear from them on topics of interest or to discuss specific upcoming legislation or ...

was held at Shakespeare & Company in collaboration with the

Community Relations Service The Community Relations Service (CRS) is part of the United States Department of Justice. The office is intended to act as a peacemaker "for community conflicts and tensions arising from differences of race, color, national origin, gender, gender i ...

of the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...

and hosted the Berkshire County Civil Rights Conference with support from Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz as keynote speaker and Massachusetts State Representative William "Smitty" Pignatelli, State Legislator Tricia Farley-Bouvier, and Pittsfield Mayor Daniel Bianchi. In 2014, BRIDGE was recognized for the efficacy of its cultural competence programs by Carolyn Turpin-Petrosino of

Bridgewater State University Bridgewater State University is a public university with its main campus in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest of nine state universities in Massachusetts. Including its off-campus sites in New Bedford, Massachusetts, N ...

in ''Understanding Hate Crimes: Acts, Motives, Offenders, Victims, and Justice''

Multicultural advocacy

BRIDGE profiles

multicultural Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''ethnic'' or cultural pluralism in which various e ...

leadership in the Berkshires through a monthly

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

distributed through

The Berkshire Eagle ''The Berkshire Eagle'' is an American daily newspaper published in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and covering all of Berkshire County, as well as four New York communities near Pittsfield. It is considered a newspaper of record for Berkshire Coun ...

. These editorials were collected into an anthology

crowdfunded Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance, to fund projects "without standard financial ...

through

IndieGogo Indiegogo is an American crowdfunding website founded in 2008 by Danae Ringelmann, Slava Rubin, and Eric Schell. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, California. The site is one of the first sites to offer crowd funding. Indiegogo allows peo ...

in late 2014 and published in 2015 as ''Berkshire Mosaic: A Multicultural BRIDGE Living History Project''.Townes, John. "Multicultural BRIDGE gets behind book on diversity." ''Berkshire Trade and Commerce'' p. 3. December 2014. http://www.btaconline.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/December-2014-BTAC.pdf. Retrieved June 4, 2015.

External links

Multicultural BRIDGE official site

On The Bridge

The Berkshire Mosaic

References

{{Reflist, 30em Non-profit organizations based in Massachusetts Organizations established in 2007 Massachusetts society Culture of Massachusetts Multiculturalism in the United States Civil rights organizations in the United States