Today we’d like to introduce you to Bridget Westrum
Hi Bridget, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Growing Our Future is an organization that I started when I was 16 years old. It was just after Covid-19 broke out and it felt like everyone needed purpose – something productive to do with their free time. I was just a kid and I had just learned about the art of gardening from some active community members, so I thought it would be cool to teach other youth what I learned about. As the organization developed, I realized that Bemidji has one of the Highest poverty rates in all of Minnesota, and perhaps gardening and sustainability were more important skills than I had initially thought. I started asking around and found there was a real need for this knowledge.
We started operating as an organization very soon. We gave away just under 100 gardening kits in our first year and we received an outpouring of support from the community and granting organizations across the state. I decided to continue developing the organization. The next year, not only did we give out kits in the spring, but we also produced indoor herb gardening kits in the fall, to prove that indoor gardening and container gardening is also an option for youth an their families. In our second year, we gave out around 300 gardening kits in total. At this point, I decided we needed to grow even more, so we began the process of becoming a registered 501c3 non-profit. This process set us back slightly, but finally, in 2023, we became a registered 501c3 public charity. I soon reached out to community members to create a board of directors.
Growing Our Future is currently operating with 9 board members and an Executive Director. This organization has grown along with me and I couldn’t be more proud. Now, at 20 years old and the executive director of a successful non-profit, I’m thinking about how we can continue to grow. This was our first year expanding our reach beyond Bemidji. Our Spring gardening kits will be available to nearby towns and cities, as well. I’ve already been speaking to people from Red Wing and Cross Lake. We’re looking at giving out around 500 free gardening kits this year and we’ve just undergone a logo rebrand and a website upgrade. Everything is going better than 16 year old me could’ve even dreamed of and I’m excited to see where we can go from here.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There have been numerous bumps in the road to becoming the successful nonprofit that we are today. We had some ups and downs with communication with the IRS. Timing has been difficult. Funding is also always an issue. The bumps seem rather small when you think about how much outside support we have though. I know that Growing Our Future will always have a community to lean on and that’s what drives me. Even when I’m buried in College homework, I can appreciate the organization and how far we’ve come.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’ve lived a lot of different lives, and I’m only 20 years old. I grew up in an artistic household and I consider that to be a huge part of who I am to this day. I am a successful ceramicist and I am a pottery teaching assistant at my university, but that’s just a hobby. I am also the assistant Manager at the Boys & Girls Club garden program and spend a lot of my time teaching youth there and helping them learn to garden both indoors and outdoors. When I’m not teaching youth at the club, I’m working on plans for Growing Our Future, advertising, and conducting meetings with my board and the community. I spend a lot of time fundraising and working with my treasurer to write grants. When I’m not doing any of that, I am pursuing my Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science at Bemidji State University. When I graduate, I will have a BA in Political Science, minors in Mass media communication and International relations, and I will be certified in Non-profit Management.
I am known for my commitment to gardening and being an active community member. Everybody knows me and I know them too and that feeling is unparalleled in any other part of my life. I feel very lucky to be known and to know others. I am always busy, but never without support, whether it’s from friends, family, or my community. I know I have people to rely on when I need them.
What matters most to you?
My community matters the most to me. I have lived in Bemidji for my entire life and it is my whole heart and soul. The people here have supported me as I’ve grown up and I feel loved wherever I go. I want to make sure others can feel this love too. I have been extremely privileged to live the life I have and I know others are not given the same opportunities I have. I want to make sure I am giving back to my community and making sure youth have opportunities. Bemidji isn’t the most active town on the planet, but we certainly have heart and we know how to use it. Working here and creating safe spaces for everyone has become my biggest motivation in life and I am very grateful to everyone who has helped me along the way. Now, it’s my job to help others. People matter to me a lot. Not specific people. All people.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.growingourfuturemn.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growing.our.future/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GrowYourOwnFuture/
