Community in Action: How LifeBridge Helps Our Neighbors in Need
When you shop, donate, or support PCCP Resale, the impact reaches far beyond our store. The proceeds and resources generated through PCCP help support local nonprofit organizations doing important work throughout our community.
One of those organizations is LifeBridge, a Bailey-based nonprofit helping local individuals and families when they need a little extra support.
Founded by John Obrecht in 2012, LifeBridge began in a garage with a simple purpose: to help bridge the gap for people facing difficult circumstances. Today, the organization provides food, clothing, firewood and other assistance to people throughout our mountain communities.
Meeting a Very Real Need Close to Home
LifeBridge serves people who may have lost a job, are living on a limited retirement income, are facing unexpected expenses, or simply find themselves struggling to make ends meet.
Food assistance has become the organization’s largest program.
Each week, approximately 120 to 150 individuals or households visit LifeBridge for help. On a typical weekend, the organization distributes an estimated 2,000 to 4,000 pounds of food.
The pantry includes nonperishable groceries as well as fresh and frozen foods, dairy products, produce, meat, bakery items and more. Much of that food is donated through partnerships with area grocery stores, while LifeBridge also purchases items that are needed to keep the pantry stocked.
LifeBridge also participates in The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) through Food Bank of the Rockies. The program provides approximately 3,000 pounds of additional food each month that LifeBridge can distribute to qualifying households.
Behind those numbers are neighbors helping neighbors.
Most of LifeBridge's clients live right here in the Bailey area and surrounding mountain communities, including Harris Park, Shawnee, Elk Creek Highlands, Deer Creek Valley Ranchos and other nearby neighborhoods.
Clothing for Children, Adults and Families
In addition to food, LifeBridge operates a free clothing closet with items ranging from baby and children’s clothing to adult apparel.
Volunteers sort through donated clothing, organize items by season and keep the closet stocked so community members can take what they need at no charge.
This is one area where the relationship between PCCP Resale and LifeBridge becomes especially meaningful.
LifeBridge regularly receives clothing and other appropriate items through PCCP. Items that can serve LifeBridge clients are put directly to use, helping extend the life of donated goods while putting them into the hands of people who need them.
John says one of the ongoing needs is men’s everyday clothing, along with useful household linens and children’s clothing.
Powered by Volunteers
It takes a tremendous amount of work to collect, organize and distribute thousands of pounds of food and clothing.
LifeBridge does it with the help of an impressive team of approximately 62 volunteers.
Volunteers collect food donations, organize the clothing closet, stock shelves, assist clients, pick up donated goods and help keep the operation moving week after week.
Grocery store pickups take place throughout the week, including regular trips to Denver to collect food that might otherwise go unused. Volunteers then help turn those donations into something much more valuable: groceries for a neighbor’s kitchen table.
Even food that cannot ultimately be distributed is put to use whenever possible. Some leftover perishables are composted, used as animal feed or shared with other community resources—another example of LifeBridge's practical approach to reducing waste while helping as many people as possible.
Where PCCP’s Support Goes
PCCP has supported LifeBridge for years, and that support helps cover the very real expenses involved in operating a community resource like this one.
Although donated food and clothing are important, running LifeBridge isn’t free.
The organization still has to purchase groceries, fuel vehicles used to collect donations, keep refrigerators and freezers running, maintain insurance and cover the everyday costs required to keep its doors open.
John shared that in one recent month alone, LifeBridge spent approximately $2,300 on groceries and $800 on fuel.
That is why community support matters.
Every purchase at PCCP Resale helps us continue supporting organizations like LifeBridge. And every item donated to PCCP has the potential to do more than simply find a new home—it can help generate resources that are reinvested directly into our community.
As John explained during his visit, even when an item isn’t something LifeBridge can use directly, donating it to PCCP still helps because the proceeds support nonprofit work.
In other words, there are many ways to help.
Your Donations Make a Difference
One of the things we love most about our community is the way local organizations, volunteers, businesses, donors and shoppers all contribute in different ways.
A bag of clothing.
A donated household item.
A purchase from PCCP Resale.
A few hours volunteered on a Thursday morning.
A box of groceries.
Individually, these actions may seem small. Together, they help organizations like LifeBridge serve hundreds of our neighbors and keep important resources available right here in our mountain community.
Thank you for shopping, donating and supporting PCCP Resale. When you do, you’re helping us support organizations like LifeBridge—and helping strengthen the community we all call home.
