Bridging was founded in July of 1987 by the Outreach Networking Ministry team of Pax Christi Catholic Community in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, to provide quality furniture and household items free of charge to those in need. Bridging operated as a ministry for five years before becoming a separate 501(c) (3) non-profit in 1992. Having moved to various locations, in 1997 Bridging took ownership of the Bloomington Minnesota warehouse and central offices, located at 201 West 87th Street. Fueled by increased demand, Bridging expanded its service by opening a warehouse in Roseville in November 2006. Between our current locations in Bloomington and Roseville, Bridging operates 64,000 square feet of warehouse space and is considered the largest Furniture Bank in the United States. We partner with approximately 150 area social service agencies who refer their clients to our services. Clients come to one of our two warehouses and our guided by (volunteer) personal shoppers to select the items that they need to make their house a home.

Fellow Position:Client Services Fellow
Primary duties and responsibilities:
- Assist the clients in their shopping experience - helping them select their furniture and household items
- Driving a Bridging truck (training provided) to either assist in the delivery of furniture/household items to clients or picking up the furniture/household items that will be donated to clients
- Oversee and assist with volunteer groups in the warehouse
- Assist in special projects related to Client Services as assigned by the Client Service Manager (i.e. Poverty Simulation Trainings, Advocacy events, client/prospective client follow-up)
- Help with item intake when donors drop off items that will be given to the clients
- Organize warehouse items in a safe and efficient manner
- Assist clients by filling their orders in the warehouse when they come to pick up their items
- Perform other Bridging activities as needed

The Fellow will be working with a wide variety of populations and demographics. Our volunteers range in age from 14 all the way up to 90+. The majority of our clients (90%) have a household income of $20,000 and 56% of them are transitioning out of homelessness. There are clients who have both mental/physical disabilities as well as many for whom English is not their primary language. We do ask our agency partners to provide care attendants/translators in these situations.

The person must have a true heart for service and for those who are experiencing difficult life situations. They should have an open mind and be able to treat others with dignity and respect at all times. We place a high value on diversity, equity and inclusion. This person must be a hard worker and be flexible to do whatever it takes to get the job done. The tasks of this role are imperative to our service delivery. There is a lot of physical labor involved. They should be positive, upbeat and excellent relationally and possess outstanding customer service skills. There will be much interaction with clients, caseworkers, volunteers and donors.

The Minnesota State Horticultural Society’s mission is to grow cold-climate gardeners through education, encouragement and community. We help society members and program participants learn how to grow plants in our challenging northern climate and positively impact the environment. We help grow gardeners by sharing resources, tools and inspiration through our website, webinars, classes, educational displays and our award-winning Northern Gardener magazine. We cultivate community through our two signature community outreach programs. Minnesota Green promotes grassroots efforts to revitalize and beautify public space gardens and helps connect neighbors through a shared interest in growing fresh, healthy food. Garden-in-a-Box brings vegetable garden kits to underserved children and adults, giving our newest gardeners the chance to experience the benefits and joy of gardening. Other plans looking forward include increasing our resources on greening and sustainability, expanding community outreach efforts and strengthening our organizational capacity to serve our diverse constituents.

Fellow Position: Community Outreach and Education Associate

This position offers the chance to develop a strong understanding of two foundation stones of any community service and non-profit agency: marketing (outreach) and educational programming. The fellow will work closely with the Communications and Marketing Director and the Outreach & Education Director to grow our reach and impact in the community through activities including:

Education - help run our first annual Film Festival, help design/run/archive webinars and in-person classes, research event venues, help run special events

Outreach - update, track and distribute marketing materials and membership/donation appeals; execute magazine mailing; analyze results of marketing efforts; promote membership at State Fair and external shows; maintain and add content to online Resource Hub

Ideal candidates will be passionate about community service, detail-oriented, and love working with the diverse populations who are current or prospective members as we work together to diversify our organization's membership and programming. The should appreciate and be motivated by how horticulture intersects with key societal issues such as food security, racial injustice, and climate change.

Our Saviour's Housing program operates an emergency shelter, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing for single adults. The English Learning Center program provides free English language instruction, plus tutoring in math, computer and citizenship test preparation for newly arrived refugees and immigrants. Our Saviour's Housing program provides emergency shelter, transitional housing, permanent supportive housing plus a wide array of support services for those who are homeless in our community.Both programs are focused on serving adults primarily in south Minneapolis, Minnesota.

All of our offices and workspaces are located in close proximity to one another in an urban neighborhood in south Minneapolis. Our mission is accomplished by about 40 staff members, including 27 full time and 13 part time individuals. We involve more than 1500 adult volunteers in the course of our work over a year. We are a community of hope for those who need a home.
Our mission is eliminating homelessness by providing shelter, support and a chance to start over.

Case Manager- Permanent Supportive Housing: Our Fellow will support a caseload of 16-20 homeless clients in scattered apartment building sites. The Case Manager’s primary functions are to assist clients with the move-in process, meet weekly to assess and encourage a case plan, ensure basic needs are met and to assist with crisis prevention/intervention to assure housing stability. Additionally, PSH Case Managers formulate strong professional relationships with clients’ landlords to better advocate and mediate any issues that may arise.

OSH has a welcoming community approach, strong teamwork collaboration, and flexibility to creatively improve programming to meet residents’ needs. The ideal candidate for this position will embrace this mindset.