Newsletter
Newsletter - December 2005

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On October 11th, the Bridges site at Aki Kurose Middle School in Seattle hosted a digital storytelling event with over 120 students from our Northwest sites. Two of the guys take a break from writing to students in Guatemala.

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PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS

December 2007

July 2007

January 2007
Bridges Deepens Connections with India
Our New Partnership with Getty Images
Miss Washington, Kristin Eddings, Serves as Bridges Spokesperson

August 2006
Bridges joins with Passport Schools
Worlds Apart, Hearts Together
Welcome to Greg Tuke, Jennifer Geist & Lori Markowitz

April 2006
What Happens in a Bridges Workshop
San Xavier Indian Reservation
Welcome to Cheryl & Tania

December 2005
Thank You From Bridges
Digital Storytelling Event
Face to Face with Bertha

September 2005
A Period of Growth
Inside a Bridges Workshop
Face to Face with Topygal

June 2005
A Worldwide Update
Bienvenidos a Fotokids
A Huge Thank You to Microsoft

March 2005
Meet Bridges New Director
Bridges Launches a New Website
Peer Mentor
Scholarship Program

January 2005
Goals & Dreams for 2005
Notes from the Field - India

Feature | Aki Event | Notes from Phil | Volunteers | Face to Face | What's New

image WITHOUT YOU BRIDGES WOULD NOT EXIST
There's no doubt 2005 has been one of our most exciting and productive years ever for building cross-cultural under-standing and empowering youth. We are now teaching photography and digital storytelling to children in 15 sites around the world. The work of Bridges could not exist without your commitment and continued support. Please help us continue making a difference in the lives of those participating in and benefiting from our programs by making a financial year-end contribution. Your generosity will pave the way for even greater accomplishments in the coming year. Support Bridges by becoming a MEMBER, making a DONATION or buying a BOOK.

BRIDGES 2006 WORKSHOP SCHEDULE
Looking for a unique adventure, a creative jumpstart in 2006, a wonderful (and partially tax-deductible) gift for someone you love? Join a workshop with Bridges. MORE
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BRIDGES RECIEVES $20,000 ADOBE GRANT!!!
What a wonderful holiday surprise. On December 15th Adobe presented Bridges with a $20,000 grant under their Creativity in Education program. These funds will provide a solid start for our work in 2006. THANK YOU ADOBE!!!!

NOTES FROM PHIL by Phil Borges
On October 9 hurricane Stan hit Central America and southern Mexico with a week of heavy rains.  More than 640 people were buried in a landslide in a little Mayan village next to Santiago de Atitlan in Guatemala .  continue
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DIGITAL STORYTELLING EVENT IN SEATTLE
By Cheryl Crow
How do you grab the attention of 120 middle school-aged students? At Aki Kurose Middle School auditorium this October, the answer was not MTV or a movie star but rather student-made documentaries from Dharamsala, India ; Ollantaytambo , Peru ; and Alaska ’s Arctic Village . 

Students from Hamilton Middle School , The Evergreen School and Aki Kurose Middle School watched with rapt attention as stories of Tibetan girls playing soccer, continue
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JOHN HIRASAWA — OUR SOUND GUY
Although he helps out in so many ways, John is known to many of our workshop participants as the sound guy. During our Seattle and Peru workshops he has helped many record narrations and ambient sound for their multimedia pieces. Whether it's in his cozy sound studio in Seattle or chasing Peruvian dogs for an essential sound bite, John helps to record and tweak the sound that brings Bridges movies to life.

As a member of the Hopi tribe, John is particularly drawn to Bridges' work with indigenous teens and is looking forward to working with youth in Bridges reservation- based sites in the USA.
image MENTORS NEEDED
One of our newest sites, Madison Middle School in West Seattle, needs mentors to work with teens who have recently emigrated from countries such as Mexico, Ethiopia and Cambodia. And as always we can use help writing grants. More information
image FACE TO FACE with BERTHA
Meet Bridges and Foto Kids student, Bertha from Panabaj, Guatemala
Bertha’s full name is Antonia Bertha García Petzey, according to the Guatemalan custom of using both the mother’s and father’s surnames. The youngest of 16 children, Bertha was born in the community of Panabaj, Santiago, on the shores of Lake Atitlán, site of the recent tragedy documented in videos produced in the Bridges workshop. She is now 19 years old.

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image WHAT'S NEW
BRIDGES FEATURED ON KOMO CHANNEL 4
"SPARKING INNOVATION IN EDUCATION"
On December 3rd, Bridges joined the George Lucas Education Foundation and Islandwood as national leaders in an hour long special on "sparking innovation in education".
BERTHA CHOSEN AS INTERPRETER FOR THE PRESIDENT OF GUATEMALA
We just recieved the exciting news that Bertha, who is featured above in "Face to Face" has been chosen as interpreter for an upcoming visit by the President of Guatemala to Panabaj. Congratuations Bertha!
(above) one of many portraits taken at the Stoytelling Event.