Resting and Transitioning Worker Assistance Fund

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Bridges and Balm is dedicated to providing assistance to resting or transitioning workers who have been active in the ministry in the past but are no longer active for reasons of health, age, emotional challenges or are transitioning out of the ministry because of some other incompatibility or disagreement with the regional administrators. Bridges & Balm volunteers and our website tools help you or your advocate assess your living expenses and financial requirements, ensuring fair living conditions and eliminating any illusion of inequity in assistance allocation.  

 

We are indebted to you who have ‘left all’ and lived without a home or salary to minister to the fellowship and bring the gospel to needy souls. We recognize that when you leave the ministry, you have no formal retirement benefits, often no social security contributions, little or no work experience and may be entirely dependent on financial assistance from friends or family members. This often results in inequities in your support because of the lack of understanding, transparency and coordination of your financial needs. 

 

​Note that this fund is not meant to replace the responsibility of the ministry and fellowship to provide ongoing care for those who have labored with us; but rather to augment situations where some experience inequitable assistance and living conditions. 

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  Bridges & Balm policies define criteria for who can receive assistance and who can donate.  Please click here to review Resting or Transitioning Worker assistance criteria and donor policies.

 

Resting Worker Assistance

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The resting worker fund provides an ongoing external funding mechanism, independent of the ministry, that complements income that you already receive to provide for your basic living expenses. Resting workers or your advocates will be guided by the Bridges & Balm website or volunteers to create a budget where you document your living expenses and any current income to determine any financial shortfalls which will determine the proposed recurring monthly payment amount. Since resting workers are usually elderly and have spent most of your life in the ministry, you may have little real-world personal finances experience.  Therefore, Bridges & Balm provides support in documenting your financial needs to determine your assistance levels, and allows you to easily adjust them as your needs change.

 

Transitioning Worker Assistance

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Transitioning workers are typically younger and need assistance in moving from the ministry to private life and the workforce. Since you typically have spent several years in the ministry, you often must update your job skills to enable you to compete in today's job market, which often requires additional education. Assistance to transitioning workers can also include living expenses, transportation costs, and healthcare costs, etc. Transitioning worker assistance usually involves supplementing or covering the costs of specific activities or needs on a one-time basis. There have been far more transitioning workers recently due to overseer responses to recent CSA/SA allegations which have amplified the need for a transparent and effective charity that provides resources to transitioning workers.

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Getting Started

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If you are comfortable working online, please check out the appropriate links below. Those of you that would rather have us contact you, please click the Contact Us link below or send an email to BridgesandBalm@gmail.com with your contact information. You can also call us at (510) 626-0788 and leave us a message with your contact information. We will then contact you and walk you or your advocate through the process of determining your financial needs. 

 

Any information you share with us is strictly confidential and will not be shared with anyone outside of Bridges & Balm without your express permission. If you initially prefer to communicate with us anonymously, please click here for more information.

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We realize that resting and transitioning workers are often reluctant to reach out and request financial assistance from anyone, especially a charity.  If those of you in the fellowship know of a resting or transitioning worker who may be in need and you can advocate to help us determine their budget and assistance needs, please contact us through any of the methods listed on this page.  

 

 Resting Workers

Resting workers or your advocate can access our Budget Worksheet to help you determine specifics of your financial needs. Once you complete the worksheet, please follow the instructions to email it back to Bridges & Balm.

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Transitioning Workers

For transitioning workers who have recently left the work, the Transitioning Worker Needs Survey can help you identify and prioritize your transitioning goals. If you have monthly assistance needs, the Budget Worksheet can help you compute your monthly income and expenses and determine any shortfalls.

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Once you complete the above survey or if you are a transitioning worker who has been out of the work for awhile and have specific items or goals you would like help in funding, the Transitioning Worker Funding Survey will help us understand your more detailed financial needs.

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