12th International Fall Fest: Saturday October 18th
Saturday, October 18th, 2 pm -6 pm
This free event is open to everyone! Come celebrate the many cultures that make Charlotte home with food, music, dance, horseback riding, pumpkin carving, a petting zoo, and more.
We're still looking for a few volunteers to help with the event. Sign up here!
đź“Ť ourBRIDGE East Site
3925 Willard Farrow Drive Charlotte, NC 28215
Fall Festival Map
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2025 Recommended Reading List
We’ve brought back our Recommended Reading List, carefully curated by the ourBRIDGE team to spotlight books by immigrant and multicultural authors. You can find these titles at That's Novel Books in Charlotte, NC!
Nonfiction
Defectors: The Rise of the Latino Far Right and What It Means for America by Paola Ramos
Everyone Who is Gone is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis by Jonathan Blitzer
Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano
A Wicked War: Polk, Clay, Lincoln, and the 1846 U.S. Invasion of Mexico by Amy S. Greenburg
Memoir & Biography
Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang
Brother, I'm Dying by Edwidge Danticat
Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario
The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo
Fiction
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
The Great Divide by Cristina HenrĂquez
Green Island by Shawna Yang Ryan
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Short-Story Collection
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
Middle Grade & YA
Nuestra América by Sabrina Vourvoulias
The Other Half of Happy by Rebecca Balcárcel
Children's
Alma by Juana Martinez-Neal
Chandra's Magic Light by Theresa Heine
Festival of Colors by Kabir Sehgal and Surishtha Sehga
Leila in Saffron by Rukhsanna Guidroz
The Most Beautiful Thing by Kao Kalia Yang
Room for Everyone by Naaz Khan
ourBRIDGE Recommended Reading List PDF
Notice of Intent to Apply for 21st Century Community Learning Centers Cohort 18
RE: Notice of Intent to Submit an Application for 21st Century Community Learning Centers Cohort 18
Per the application guidelines, ourBRIDGE for KIDS issues a public notice to the Mecklenburg community regarding our intention to apply for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Cohort 18 grant. If received, this funding will help ourBRIDGE for KIDS welcome eligible students in the Mecklenburg area into our culturally-responsive out-of-school programming.
The purpose of the 21st CCLC Program, as described in federal statute, is to provide opportunities for eligible communities to establish or expand activities that focus on:
- Improved academic achievement
- Enrichment services that reinforce and complement the academic program as well as social and emotional learning
- Family Engagement
For questions or comments please contact (980) 272-6022.
Sil GanzĂł
Executive Director
ourBRIDGE Public Notice Cohort 18
WSOC-TV: Charlotte is Home Center offers support for families newly arriving in the US
WSOC-TV: Charlotte is Home Center Offers Support for Families Newly Arriving in the U.S
WSOC-TV featured the work of Sil GanzĂł, founder of ourBRIDGE for KIDS, and the development of the Charlotte is Home Center.
GanzĂł, who immigrated to the United States and resettled in Charlotte over 20 years ago founded ourBRIDGE for KIDS to support newly arrived immigrant and refugee families. The organization was established to address specific gaps in culturally responsive services, educational support, and community-based resources for children and their families.
In the interview, Ganzó shared: “Yes, we all need affordable housing and healthcare, but there’s a specific way in which immigrants can be better supported.”
The Charlotte is Home Center, shaped through the efforts of ourBRIDGE and its community partners, held its ribbon-cutting in September 2023 and launched softly on October 1. The Center now serves as a hub for immigrant and refugee families to access coordinated services and build a sense of belonging.
đź”— Read the full WSOC-TV article: Charlotte is Home Center offers support for families newly arriving in the US
Charlotte Magazine: Have You Heard of Introvert Happy Hour? This One Has a Cause
Silent Book Club Fundraiser Brings Community Together for ourBRIDGE for KIDS
In a beautiful blend of literature, community, and purpose, ourBRIDGE for KIDS recently partnered with That’s Novel Books to host a Silent Book Club fundraiser at our East Side campus. Under the trees and warm lights, more than 20 people gathered to read, reflect, and raise support for immigrant and refugee children in Charlotte.
Silent Book Clubs—sometimes called introvert happy hours—have surged in popularity for their simple premise: show up with a book, enjoy quiet time, and connect with fellow readers. But this gathering was extra special. ourBRIDGE curated a reading list spotlighting immigrant and refugee authors to deepen understanding of the experiences many of our BRIDGE Kids and their families face.
With cozy snacks, a garden setting, and stories that build empathy, the night captured what makes ourBRIDGE unique: a celebration of cultures, learning, and shared humanity.
To read the full Charlotte Magazine article, click here.
2024 Recommended Reading
Looking for books that highlight immigrant and refugee experiences? ourBRIDGE for KIDS has curated a collection centering the immigrant and multicultural experience. Explore and purchase these books at That’s Novel Books in Charlotte, NC while supplies last!
Nonfiction Books
A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: One Refugee's Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival by Melissa Fleming
Invisible and Voiceless: The Struggle of Mexican Americans for Recognition, Justice, and Equality by Martha Caso
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum
Feed the Resistance: Recipes + Ideas for Getting Involved by Julia Turshendrea
Palestinian Walks: Forays into a Vanishing Landscape by Raja Shehadeh
The Displaced by Viet Thanh Nguyen
The Next Great Migration by Sonia Shah
Once I Was You by Maria Hinojosa
Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas
In the Country We Love by Diane Guerrero
Somewhere We Are Human by Reyna Grande
They Called Us Exceptional by Prachi Gupta
American Like Me by America Ferrera
Fiction Books
Say You're One of Them by Uwem Akpan
Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina GarcĂa
Everything Here Is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee
The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu
How the GarcĂa Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Exit West by Mohsin Ahmad
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
If I Tell You The Truth by Jasmin Kaur
Dominicana by Angie Cruz
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri
Children & Middle-Grade Books
The Journey by Francesca Sanna
The Name Jar by Yanksook Choi
Chachaji’s Cup by Uma Krishnaswami
My Name is Yoon by Helen Recorvits
My Name Was Hussein by Hristo Kyuchukov
Teacup by Rebecca Young
Going Home, Coming Home by Truong Tran
Mama’s Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation by Edwidge Danticat
Two White Rabbits by Jario Buitrago
Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote A Migrant's Tale by Duncan Tonatiuh
Somos Como Las Nubes (We Are Like the Clouds) by Jorge Argueta
Eleven Words for Love: A Journey through Arabic Expressions of Love by Randa Abdel-Fattah
When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson, Omar Mohamed
Charlotte Observer: When Charlotte’s kids stopped showing up to class, this nonprofit started helping parents
Hechinger Report Spotlights ourBRIDGE's Impact on School Attendance
The Hechinger Report recently featured ourBRIDGE for KIDS in an in-depth story about chronic absenteeism and how afterschool programs like ours are helping English-language learners stay engaged with their education.
The article highlights how ourBRIDGE has grown from serving 35 students in 2014 to nearly 230 students today, offering not only academic and social-emotional support but also wraparound services for immigrant and refugee families.
Through culturally responsive programming, family outreach, and strong relationships with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, ourBRIDGE has helped students reengage with school and build a strong foundation for success.
Read the full article by Ariel Gilreath via The Charlotte Observer