Building Bridges Across Town

By Natalie Fidlow @nfidlow

What is Building Bridges?

Building Bridges is an after-school program whose mission is to build a bridge for kids between the different schools in town. The director of Cranford’s program, Nikki Savino Mulcahy, said, “Offering kids these opportunities to socialize at the K-5 level gives them both an ability to make more friends and not feel as overwhelmed when they get to the high school level.”

“I tell those interested in the program that Building Bridges is like if you put camp counseling, babysitting, and teaching in a blender. That’s what a student will get from this program,” she said. The group meets every two weeks for an hour at the high school. Kids are grouped in different classrooms according to their grade level and provided high school leaders. The leaders stay with the group throughout the year.

The Bridge of Mentorship

Daniella Goldate, 14, is one of the high school leaders. She is assigned to the first-graders. “I joined the program because I love little kids and babysitting. It’s fun to be around them.” About a week before a Building Bridges meet up, Daniella and the other leaders are assigned a theme. The theme on this day was Halloween. “Our group leaders decided to paint pumpkins, so we planned the meeting and bought the supplies,” explained Daniella. The ten first-grade kids happily sat at desks, painting pumpkins and talking to the leaders.

As you walk through the high school during the Building Bridges program, you come across different rooms, with the high school leaders running their planned activities. One grade was designing their candy bar craft. In another room, fourth graders Ella Schroder, Lilah Pittard, and Quinn Navarro were frantically running around Maeve Higgins with toilet paper, trying to win a mummy race. Amongst the giggles and joy, bonds are forming between the high school students and the elementary students.

A Look Back on the Program

Savino Mulcahy took over the Building Bridges program in 2019, and it’s been a wild ride since. When the schools closed at the start of Covid, parents sought ways for their children to socialize and asked for the program to continue. So, Savino Mulcahy devised a remote plan with 80 elementary kids and 70 high schoolers. Spending much of her own money on crafts, the program was a hit. In the following years, when the schools were going between planned and unplanned virtual and physical mandates, Savino Mulcahy tried to run the program nimbly.

What does the program look like this year?

With more stability regarding in-person activities, Savino Mulcahy physically oversees over 100 elementary and over 100 high schoolers.

The biggest challenge is logistics. Where to put all of the separate age groups safely around the school so that the group remains respectful of classrooms while avoiding breakables and Bunson burners.

Savino Mulcahy is excited. “We’re learning and getting more efficient with each meet-up.” She finds a way. Quickly walking around the high school while Building Bridges takes place, Savino Mulcahy checks in on the rooms, interviews two freshmen begging her to join the group, and locates crayons for the first-graders. “I try to limit the participants to 6 kids per grade per neighborhood school, but I can’t say no. And with the high schoolers, I don’t want to say no because if they are here, at least I know what they are doing, and it’s productive and purposeful.”

Savino Mulcahy is excited about the year ahead and wants Building Bridges to hold activities outside school. There’s even talk of plans for a Polar Express movie night at the recreation center.

Building Bridges is a bustling and fun program that builds its bridges in a fun, effortless way.

Seven-year-old Olivia Mulcahy joined because she wanted to meet friends and to be in high school. Her advice for anyone considering joining is, “Don’t be shy; it’s ok. I’m here from Brookside, and there are many friends you’ll meet from Walnut and Bloomingdale schools. You will be so happy you did.”