Braving a blast from old man winter, 300 guests gathered last weekend to celebrate their commitment to children and families at The Bridge Services’ Winter Rose Ball, held at the Hyatt Regency Woodfield in Schaumburg.
The Palatine-based youth and family service agency’s sixth annual benefit raised an estimated $70,000 from ticket sales at $100 a person, as well as a raffle and silent auction.
According to The Bridge board of directors chairwoman Maureen Shannon Forster of Barrington, all funds raised will go toward such programs as crisis intervention, counseling for abused children, parent education and youth advocacy programs targeting the needs of Palatine Township 6- to 17-year-olds and their families.
“We help troubled kids and their families with a focus on crisis intervention and education,” said Forster, adding that approximately 80 percent of the children receiving assistance from The Bridge have been abused physically, mentally or sexually.
“With the decline of the family, there is more demand for our services than ever before,” said Ed Johnson of Palatine, The Bridge vice chairman. “There are plenty of cases where it just isn’t possible, but we do try to heal the family and to keep the family unit together.”
For Phyllis Richter of Palatine, a longtime volunteer, The Bridge has become an important part of her life.
“My concern is we have to take care of children. … Someday, we will need them to take care of us. And they need a lot of guidance,” Richter said.
And how did the agency receive its name? Forster says that the name, The Bridge, was derived from the classic Simon and Garfunkel song “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”
“We bridge the gap between children and parents,” she said, “and help them get over troubled water.”
