During September 2019, a host of Coventry-based organisations built the Leonardo Da Vinci-inspired bridge kits at special bridge-themed community events.
Xcel Leisure Centre with CV Life
"We are a leisure centre based in the heart of Canley; we also have a community development team who work across the city communities and schools. We would like to build a bridge between our leisure centre and the local community of Canley."
Friends of Memorial Park, Coventry
Bridge building with the Friends of Memorial Park, Coventry, and the Resource Centre for the Blind. " The Friends of Coventry War Memorial Park and members of the Resource Centre for the Blind are joining together to build a bridge in the Memorial Park. The bridge signifies the journey they are embarking on to make the park more accessible for people with visual impairment and other disabilities in the hope that greater inclusion will result in less social isolation."
Canal and River Trust
"We're the charity who look after and bring to life 2,000 miles of waterways, including the canals around Coventry. We will be moving the Leonardo Da Vinci bridge along the Coventry Canal, stopping at locations along the way to build the bridge."
Crisis Skylight Coventry and Warwickshire
"We are a homelessness charity based in Coventry.We love to see our members express themselves creatively. This bridge is a great way to share some of our fantastic member's work with people across the region and get involved in their local community."
Motionhouse Youth
"MHY is the official youth dance company of Motionhouse dance-circus company, based in Leamington Spa. All of our work is concerned with the human condition – we use partner work, complex lifts and acrobatic dance to explore building bridges and relationships with others, relying on them, trusting them, connecting. We are very excited to be involved Bridge because it aligns so well with our values."
Frederick Bird Primary School, Swan Lane, Coventry
"We are a large multi-cultural primary school in the Hillfields area of Coventry. We pride ourselves on building links with all people regardless of race, opinions or belief. We are looking forward to bridging any divides we have and connecting further with the community around us."
Extinction Rebellion
"We will build bridges at our festival of climate rebellion! Come and sing, dance, watch street theatre, do yoga, go on a bike ride, and build a bridge...we're going to party to stop climate breakdown!"
Ascension Dance Company
"We are a dance company based in Coventry that specialises in contemporary dance fused with movement disciples such as parkour and free-running. We do a lot to try and get young males into dance.
We are excited about the potential the bridge structure holds for movement. We are interested in the cohesion between set, engineering, movement and performance. We think it could provide inspiration for many young people to create their own performances and pieces of dance."
The Jubilee Crescent Community Centre
"We are home to a diverse range of groups and activities, from kickboxing to poetry and bingo to ballroom with lots of other between. We are excited about the bridge coming to us as we are always striving to include the whole community in everything we do and this is an awesome way to get people together. On ‘Bridge Day’ we hope to have live music, performances, poetry and some innovative ways to engage the community."
Langar Aid
"Langar Aid is a project by international humanitarian aid organisation Khalsa Aid International. Our mission is to serve the homeless, vulnerable and those struggling with poverty. We set up an environment where people feel safe, comfortable, and most importantly valued."
John Shelton Community Primary School
"We are a medium sized Primary School of 240 in Holbrook’s, Coventry. We are developing our curriculum to include a sharper focus on Celebrating Diversity in our community. The Bridge project is great metaphor for what we do; that is, bring together different groups in order to learn together. We will be taking a class of 30 children out onto the front of the school to build a bridge. The parents will then see the bridge after school when they collect the children."
MTC ‘Lives Transformed’
"We are a young offenders secure training centre based near Coventry. As a group of young people from different walks of life and life experience, we hope to come together to build the Bridge as one family and bridge the gap in reflecting on our offences and rehabilitation."
Wheelwright Lane Primary School
"We are building a bridge with our friends at our neighbouring school, Exhall Grange. We hear each other playing outside on our respective playgrounds but don’t often see each other so thought it would be a good idea to meet. We are bridging the boundary between us in order to know our community better."
The Hindu Community Coventry
"We base our community on "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam", meaning that the whole world is one family. This is a fascinating opportunity and a great honour; by being part of Bridge the Hindu Community hopes to meet and socialise within our communities in Coventry, hopefully making long term friendships."
Families for All Hub
"Families for All Hub is really excited to host a bridge building at the Junk Food Café and Hub Club. The Café is a melting pot of culture, languages and faiths and truly represents the Foleshill community, bringing families together to share food, play and lean. Building a bridge will not only be loads of fun but represents the building of a community made up of people for all over the world."
Central Library Coventry
"We are the public lending library in Coventry City Centre. Library spaces are used by lots of people in Coventry. Libraries connect people together by sharing stories or by using computers. The Bridge gives us a great chance to use library space for creative construction and lots of fun."
Gurdwara Guru Nanak Parkash (GGNP)
"GGNP is a Gurdwara (Sikh place of worship) established in 1965 and based in Hillfields, Coventry. The tradition of Sikhi promotes community cohesion and prays for the wellness of all ('sarbat da bhalla'), therefore the Sikh community at GGNP felt very excited about being involved in Bridge to rekindle the strong community relationships we have with our neighbours and allow an opportunity for our next generations to build the same strong communal relationships that flourished in the 1960s."
Shekinah Temple African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (A.M.E Zion)
"The members of Shekinah Temple are excited about our church and hope that should you ever be in the Coventry area, that you come and share fellowship with us, where a warm welcome awaits you. One of the inspirational messages you would hear at our church can be found in our motto ‘Building People Up Through Word, Worship and Prayer and Giving God The Glory.' – 1 Thessalonians 5:11"