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We believe that education is the key to unlocking a person's potential, and that STEAM education is vital in today's digital world. Our four pillars of education, expression, and empowerment provide a foundation for young people to explore their passions and talents, and to make their mark on the world.

Our programs include hands-on workshops, digital experiences, and educational initiatives that are designed to inspire and engage young people. We are committed to fostering new perspectives and creating opportunities for the next generation of intellectual heroes.

Join us in our mission to fuel the future by making STEAM education equitable for all. Together, we can bridge the gap and open doors for a brighter future for all.
August 2022 - Coding Soon
​"Too many times we think THIS OR.. Briidgethegap is here to show the youth that it’s about THIS AND. Football AND coding not Football OR Coding"
Coding Carnivals in MISD 
Spring 2022
Briidge The Gap 'Coding carnivals' aim to inform the youth from ages 6-17 about digital literacy, introductory computer programming and to emphasize the usefulness of a pre-established computer science knowledge at any age. This is made possible through the use of captivating demonstrations of technology such as Drones, Virtual Reality, and NFT Smart Frames to draw intrigue from each student within a station-based structure. We then reel them in to coding creation following stations to showcase to our students’ foundations of computer science to inspire them to one day create their own captivating technology. Made possible through the licensing of Fuel The Future Learn, an EdTech platform. 

It’s so important to show the youth what they are capable of. Showcasing how accessible computer science at large and computer programming can be will set the youth up with a host of skills necessary for the 21st century. The Ed-tech software we run is produced in-house by FTF Platforms and our stations of Drones, NFT Smart frames also built by FTF Platforms, and the virtual reality headsets are managed by Briidge The Gap. 
​Photos Courtesy of: Aaron Walls
Mckinney Black History Month "Legends to Legacies" Art Show
February 5th, 2022

On the 5th of February we collaborated closely with The City of Mckinney Black History Month Committee to showcase the inaugural McKinney Black History Month Art Show in the downtown square. The event entitled “Legends & Legacies” opened to a flood of people as the Saturday night festivities spilled over from the surrounding shops. Even members of the community who hadn’t initially heard of the event prior to the evening discovered it with ease. Countless families and friends met for an unforgettable night which blended physical art with the virtual metaverse.

Upstairs we had two separate rooms; One hosted tons of seats for our artist panel while the other had two Virtual Reality stations alongside four screen frames. One of our frames hosted the Fat Owls NFT project while the other three ran an early build of FTF Frames, the culmination of in-house hardware and the Apollo Art Exchange Archive software powered by Fuel The Future Platforms. This allowed members of the community to approach physical screens and scroll through eight pieces hand-selected from the archive of the Apollo Art Museum. 

Downstairs were a total of about 30 pieces of art ranging from acrylic paint to oil, watercolor and even digital illustrations. Two rooms were utilized to full effect as they provided a continual flow throughout the gallery for its viewers. Drinks and food were provided, serving as a sort of gathering point for many of our attendees.


Near the night’s end we all met in the panel room to announce the overall winners of the show. These winners are listed below from 1st-3rd: *Tied for 3rd*
​We feel that this community event was a tremendous success. Not only were we able to convey the Black History Month theme “Legends & Legacies” but we were also able to achieve a broader level of exposure for a ton of new artists. It was quite clear these frames proved the concept which our team has been developing for quite some time. In specificity this was the high degree of immersion as well as the immense level of efficiency and storage which screens provide. In addition to this it sparked an incredible amount of conversation on the implications of digital ownership through Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) as well as their clear application to and utilization within the world of art. Not only was the station successful in raising awareness about Virtual Reality but it also provided the community with clear foundational insights on the future of the interconnected metaverse, also known as the internet.

Briidge The Gap looks forward with extreme excitement to all future community-based events as we invite the reader to continue engaging with others throughout their city and beyond
(Link to All Featured Works from Show below)

Operation Furnish - Fundraising Event
January 22, 2022
In the beginning weeks of December, Emory Otto contacted Joshua Berry, Executive Director of BTG, to share the story of Jacklyn Radway and her family, nearly immediately we got to work formatting a way to provide breathing room for Jacklyn as she tackles this traumatic transition. Across a period of six weeks, Otto and the team at Briidge The Gap worked to bring in community support, community organization partners and sponsors to aid with monetary support. By the end of that six weeks, we had raised over $4300 of our $5000 goal. The event that the GoFundMe had been leading up to resulted in generous check presentations from Torry Abra of Credit Union of Texas and Rev. Larry Jagours of First Chapel Fellowship Church which amounted to $2000 in totality.

​  This has been a tremendous showcase of why we at BTG are so proud of this community. The collective effort that has been put in amounted to an incredibly impactful experience for not just the Radway family but also each and every individual that supported this operation, each and every survivor of domestic abuse, each and every person that believes that they're story is a burden. We want to showcase that community prevails, that we care. No one should be treated like a burden in their own community. We welcome you, Jacklyn. Thank you for choosing our community.
"Community First.
​That is the mission statement at Briidge The Gap."
Operation Furnish
"In May of 2021, Jacklyn Radway was shot by her ex-boyfriend in her own home in front of her children. Jacklyn and her former partner were together about 13 years and had 4 children together. After years of domestic abuse and infidelity, she finally decided that it was time for them to part ways and give her kids a better life. Months after moving into her next home, an unexpected fire started and burnt the entire house down including all of their belongings. After living in a shelter with her kids for about three months, she finally got the keys to her own three bedroom apartment for her 6 kids. At this time the family didn’t have anything: no beds, no furniture, no pots or pans, only a bag of clothes, and a whole lot of love for one another. Shortly after moving in, her ex boyfriend arrived at the apartment with a bag in hand. As she asked him to help her buy some bunk beds for their four kids, he pulled out a gun and shot her in the chest. While her kids stood there shocked and crying, she tried to unlock the door screaming for help struggling against him with a gun in his hands, until finally neighbors came to the door and he fled. With her ex-boyfriend still on the run today, Jacklyn lives with PTSD in consistent fear for both herself and for her children. Along with her PTSD, she now also suffers from disability due to the gunshot through her chest. She is unable to work and is in the process of applying for disability. Her family still has little to no furniture with all four kids (Ages 5, 6, 7, 8) currently sleeping together in one bed while their mom sleeps on the couch. When I tell you that this mother is the strongest and most compassionate mother I have ever seen, I mean this from the bottom of my heart. She gives and gives even when she feels like she can’t give anymore, because she truly seeks to provide the best possible life for her children. Now it's time for us to give her something back.
 
Briidge The Gap along with individual volunteers have come together to create this gofundme to raise funds to support this family in need! BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP! Our goal is to raise $5,000 for the family to help buy much needed furniture and home appliances! HELP US REACH OUR GOAL! HELP US CHANGE THIS FAMILY’S LIFE!
 
Please consider donating to our gofundme in order to reach our goal of $5,000 and support this wonderful family who has been through so much." ~ Emory Otto, GoFundMe
Below is an interview recorded January 4th, 2022 with Ms. Jacklyn Radway herself discussing the situation at hand and featuring the voices of Emory Otto and Joshua Berry devising an action plan to help. 
Connect 313 Community Conversation
CONNECT 313 is a citywide, data-driven digital inclusion strategy that brings countless organizations together with the bold goal to make Detroit a national model for digital inclusion and ensure all Detroiters can access the digital world and the opportunity it brings.

Briidge The Gap's founder and Executive Director, Joshua Berry, sat in with the organization's governance board and  community panelists to share how Briidge The Gap and Connect 313's missions are aligned and how both organization's can seamlessly integrate in the future. 

Briidge The Gap fully intends to bring our Coding Carnivals and other events based around the four pillars to the city of Detroit in 2022.
Tis The Season... 
​Tis the season for compassion! Join Briidge The Gap in our pursuit to collect 300 individually wrapped gifts to gift off to those in need of christmas joy this season. The initiative kicks off on Nov. 26th across multiple locations starting with our homebase at Old Settlers Recreation Center and ends Dec. 18th. On the end date, each toy will be brought back to our homebase and toys will be distributed to families that just need a little extra help.
Coding Carnivals (2021)
This Fall, Briidge The Gap 'Coding Carnivals' will be hosted within The Roy and Helen Hall Memorial Library, every 1st Saturday of the month from September-December.
(Ages 12-17)

​"Colorful Curriculum" specifically towards the 1st-5th grade age range will take place within the Old Settler's Parks and Recreation Center. Kick-off date to be announced.
(Ages 6-11)
​ 
Get signed up below:

​“Fueling the future” to us means providing the tools to help the youth achieve their career and life goals at large by encouraging growth academically and socially regardless of current socioeconomic standing. 
For every student of the fuel the future course, the career options down the line become boundless.

​The fundamentals we instruct on can be applied across various career sectors upon completion of the course. The creation of each script from the students will teach them about the process of design, how to take an idea and turn it into a full-fledged project, thinking computationally and reasoning systematically.
​
Not to say that each of our students have to come out the end as the next Mark Zuckerberg. Regardless of what career-fields they then go into, the toolset that is attained throughout the course will foster skills and new perspectives around much of what runs the framework of modern day--computers.
Full Circle Podcast
 ​Content From The Community - Mckinney Performing Arts Center
 A collaboration with Samantha Woodson,​ An Open Mic Night with an emphasis on spoken word.
June 11th, 2021
The Content from the community initiative was created to provide a platform for Art and Community to intersect and allow art directly from the community to touch the hearts and minds of one another, as neighbors, to help us achieve common ground and to enjoy the moments taking place both as an audience member and as an "act" yourself.
​ ​Coding Carnival (Pilot Program)
 A Collaboration with  City-Councilman Justin Beller 
April 17th, 2021
​Crossroads Conversations
A collaboration with Flourish Community Initiatives
​ January 29th, 2021
Art has always been a powerful medium to raising our collective consciousness, it challenges and inspires humanity to be better. Crossroads Art series initiative was created, to provide a platform for Art and Community to intersect and allow art to help us achieve common ground for the common good.
​Artists For Full Artist Roster, See Artists Page.
Another Step Forward 
A collaboration with Samantha Woodson
​ August 8, 2020
Picture
Jamie Kaylin, Pictured above.
Trung Kien Messerli painting a piece
Trung Kien Nicolas Messerli, Pictured above.

MIssion Statement:

"community 
​First"
The inherent goal is to appeal to the hearts and minds of the community in a way that invites them to engage in our social & educational initiatives. Our four pillars are rooted in the mission of advancing these efforts in ways that bring communities together and foster real connections. In line with addressing equity gaps in multiple sectors, we host entertaining educational events to provide each prospective learner with thoughtful instruction that they can carry with them throughout the rest of their lives.

"Education is the passport to the future, tomorrow belongs to those who prepare today"

Upcoming Dates