Hands For A Bridge

Our mission is providing high school youth with opportunities to explore issues surrounding social justice in their local, regional, and international communities. Hands for a Bridge (HFB) is an innovative and immersive program designed to educate and empower students to build a more connected, informed and just world. The program is run through a unique partnership with Roosevelt High School in Seattle, Washington. Students must apply to participate in the intensive academic and extra-curricular program. Teachers and volunteers lead the students through a year-long language arts class, along with weekly after-school meetings, and a bilateral international exchange program. Using the arts as a lens, students learn to examine and discuss social justice issues that impact their own identities, their communities, and our globally-connected world. They are challenged to apply these lessons in a variety of settings, culminating in an Activism Project. Students design and complete a solution in their own community, using the lessons, perspectives, and tools they have gained throughout the program. HFB students emerge as transformed global citizens with vision and resources to effect vital change in our world. Our program strengthens students’ engagement in our own community and the world, as well as their leadership skills. They frequently go on to study and work in related disciplines: international affairs, social work, and teaching.