ourBRIDGE focuses on children of immigrant and refugee families, helping them achieve academic success and integration into the community through innovative instructional methods and celebration of cultural diversity.

Founder, Sil Ganzó envisioned a ‘community where refugee and immigrant children won’t fall behind academically because of a lack of resources, encouragement, and English language skills. A community full of independent, confident children who have the tools to make for themselves a bright future. A place where communication between schools and families won’t be hindered by failure to communicate.’

It looks like she is doing just that. “We are in the middle of the second year as a not-for profit. We welcome 70 newly arrived and 1st generation American students from three Title I schools. Our attendance rate has been over 93% since September and our innovative and successful strategies to teach English are being recognized nationwide. We are looking into moving to a bigger space and being able to expand our programs in order to serve more children and families”, explains Ganzó.  “We have come very far since our participation in SEED20 2014, when all we had was an ambitious idea and the conviction that, somehow, we were going to make it happen. SVP has provided the support and guidance to build a strong foundation for our organization, to ensure ourBRIDGE’s continuity, in order to keep serving the refugee and immigrant population in Charlotte.”