For immigrants, refugees, and new members of our communities, settling and integrating into the new community and surrounding can be a particularly challenging process with linguistic and cultural barriers. Furthermore, our communities’ misunderstandings of and societies’ discrimination against new members further accumulate these challenges. Often, immigrants and refugees feel disconnected from society and lack equal access to opportunities that enable them to participate effectively.

Civic education is “the study of the rights and duties of citizens and of how government works” (Merriam-Webster dictionary). In increasingly competitive societies, the knowledge of how to advocate for oneself in one’s political jurisdiction is critical to an individual’s success, regardless of differences in professional pursuits or backgrounds. However, the civic education curriculum provided by educational institutions is inadequate for fulfilling the objective of civic participation. Through our civic education program, Bridge The Heart fulfills this need by providing experiential learning to maximize youth immigrants’ ability to effectively participate in the civic process. Global citizenship is the notion of all persons having rights and civic responsibilities from being a member of the world community. In an increasingly interconnected world, knowledge of global affairs and a sense of global responsibility is becoming more important than ever for one’s success and the world’s betterment. Bridge The Heart works to ensure that youth immigrants have the knowledge, skills, and experiences they need to succeed in school, engage effectively in their societies and political processes, and achieve leadership potential. By connecting young people in our community, our work at Bridge the Heart serves as a powerful reminder that every individual is a valued member of our community.

Our mission is to provide peer-to-peer support for youth immigrants and refugees through mentorship, participatory civic education, and global citizenship programs. BTH strives to inspire and provide opportunities for youth immigrants and refugees to achieve academic excellence, self-actualization, and global leadership by empowering them to take action on critical challenges facing their communities and our world. Bridge The Heart seeks to address the lack of global education and leadership opportunities catered for youth immigrants and refugees whose ethnic and cultural groups are largely underrepresented academically, politically, and professionally.