Penny Sherrill

“Being a parent of three children, one of whom has special needs, I know the vulnerability of kids and the psychological issues that can devastate them.” says Penny Sherrill. Looking for an organization to share her time and professional talents, Penny decided to put her energy into The Bridge, a family treatment center, residential program and school for troubled and abused teens. Penny’s sister, Lynda, has volunteered at The
Bridge for more than 12 years teaching gardening and cooking. Impressed with the stories Lynda shared, Penny, a native Atlantan and 13-year real estate professional, thought of an idea to provide a service to friends of The Bridge.

For real estate closings that have occurred through friends of The Bridge, Penny will make a $500 donation to support The Bridge’s therapeutic, residential and academic services. Penny’s generosity not only provides needed contributions, but visibility for The Bridge’s services to youth and families in our community. Whether you are buying, selling or need real estate consultation contact Penny for more information.

AutoTrader.com
“The beauty of AutoTrader.com’s partnership with The Bridge is the multiple ways our employees and company are involved,” said Michele Blondheim, Community Relations Manager. We at The Bridge couldn’t agree more.

With a myriad of projects needing support on The Bridge’s seven-acre campus and teens craving adult attention and guidance, the partnership plays to AutoTrader.com’s core values in providing ways for employees to give back to the community. For The Bridge, their support has been tremendous. AutoTrader.com volunteers dive right in and get the job done – whether it is managing a donut hole-eating contest at The Bridge School’s Halloween party, installing a 20-foot Eiffel Tower in the gymnasium or teaching students how to build wood benches for the garden areas around the campus.

“When you work 40+ hours a week and are 100% committed to your job, it’s easy to lose perspective. To be able to give back as a team or as an individual helps to bring balance and perspective. The Bridge reminds us of the things that are most important.” said Michele Blondheim.

The Bridge leverages its community partnerships by matching the interests and strengths of its volunteers with organizational needs. Those needs can be anything from creating a trivia festival during fall break to refurbishing a group room with murals to leading a professional development workshop to fundraising for special programs.

Dealer Services’ Mike Winn encouraged his team to consider adopting The Bridge in an effort to become a more integral part of the organization’s life. Linda Eller, a member of the team, said “Volunteering at The Bridge just feels right. I knew that it wouldn’t be the easiest place to volunteer, but I like the challenge and feel that the reward is greater.”

Linda and her colleagues in Dealer Services led three major projects in the past year: a phenomenal Eiffel Tower and Parisian cityscape that turned The Bridge School’s gymnasium into “An Evening in Paris” for the 2007 school spring formal, an extreme makeover of the students’ Animal Assisted Therapy room and a nighttime wonderland for the school’s 2008 formal, “Darkness Falls”.

Bridge teens face tremendous adversity and are working to overcome intense feelings of abandonment, gain self-esteem and control impulses. For students dressed in formal gowns and suits, walking into the school gymnasium face to face with a 20-foot Eiffel Tower surrounded by silver and white balloons affords them a priceless high school memory. This year’s spring formal incorporated school awards; it was a true reward to see the surprise on each student’s face as their name was called and to watch each proudly walk to the podium to receive recognition for their achievements in school and in treatment.

In addition to school functions, AutoTrader.com employees created a special environment that students utilize on a daily basis. In fall 2007, the Dealer Services Group surveyed students and took their feedback to design a dedicated room for The Bridge’s Animal Assisted Therapy Program. The light, airy design provides students a serene space to work through tough issues during their stay at The Bridge.

AutoTrader.com also extends its support of The Bridge through fundraising. The ATC Soccer Challenge raised more than $30,000 in 2007 to support The Bridge’s recreation therapy program. The visibility given to The Bridge through AutoTrader.com’s corporate relationships is remarkable; it enables us to educate more community-minded individuals who are concerned about the welfare of youth and families in Georgia. In addition, the company provides small grants throughout the year that enable our teachers and therapists to develop professionally. Most recently an AutoTrader.com grant provided registration for three key staff members to attend a three-day gang prevention symposium.

Bridge CEO Tom Russell concludes, “AutoTrader.com and its staff have become a primary part of The Bridge’s family of volunteers. Their employees demonstrate a great deal of compassion and display a sense of pride and ownership in all of the activities that they participate. We are fortunate to have them as friends.”

Photo captions:

{Caption for the mural room} When the Dealer Services team completed the mural in the Animal Assisted Therapy room, the boys were the first to ask, “When can the volunteers come back so we can paint a mural in our rooms?”

{Caption for facility team} AutoTrader.com’s Facility Team designed wood benches and worked side by side with students to put them together. We now have twenty glorious places to sit around The Bridge’s seven-acre campus.

{Caption for Eiffel Tower} A proud Dealer Services Team admires the culmination of months of preparation and work for the school’s “An Evening in Paris” spring formal.