The Bridge Golf Foundation has joined with the My Brothers Keeper Initiative and the Campaign for Black Male Achievement and similar initiatives to focus on this demographic at the bottom in every indicator of economic, social and physical well-being in American society.
“Their distress is the first sign of danger that threatens us all,” said Lani Guinier, a Harvard Law School professor. “These problems are symptoms warning us that we are all at risk.”
Yet we fully acknowledge that girls and women of color also face significant barriers to opportunity and that the fates of young men of color and their female counterparts are inextricably linked. It is our desire to build partnerships with organizations that support women of color.
Our goal is to make a game widely associated with wealth, elitism and privilege accessible to an emerging and culturally rich, but troubled swath of urban America. Central and West Harlem, where most of our students live, are two of the ten poorest community districts in New York City. More than 70 percent of the students from our partner school, the Eagle Academy, receive free/reduced lunch, which is representative of the number of students living below the poverty line. A majority of incoming students are performing at below grade-level and thirty percent have a special needs designation. Without the intervention of community-centered programs and schools equipped to provide them with pathways to greater social mobility and educational opportunities, many of these young men are headed to prison or violence-related deaths or cycles of underemployment.
According to a 2015 New York Times report, there are more than 1.5 million Black men, between the ages of 25 and 54, missing from everyday life, because they are either behind bars or dead from violent crimes.
The Bridge Golf Foundation, Inc., is a recognized 501(c)(3) organization for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
IRS Determination Letter
The Foundation headquarters are located at The Bridge Golf Learning Center, our 2300-square foot indoor golf center, at 40 West 117th Street in Harlem in the borough of Manhattan.
The Foundation cannot complete its work without mentors and volunteers. Our families need energetic role models to offer their sons guidance, coaching, and advice. We have volunteer opportunities that will accommodate various interests and schedules. You can also support the work of The Foundation by taking lessons, booking simulator time, and participating in other paid programming at The Bridge Golf Learning Center.