NewBridge was formed out of four existing senior centers.
NewBridge, a Madison area nonprofit that serves seniors, was founded in 2019 — formed out of four existing nonprofits: the North/Eastside Senior Coalition, West Madison Senior Center, South Madison Coalition of the Elderly and East Madison/Monona Coalition of the Aging. Those groups had been operating since the 1970s, but combining them eliminated confusion and reduced duplication of services, says executive director Jim Krueger.
The new name was intended to present a positive spin on healthy aging, and emphasize that it serves those 60 and older, “not just the frail elderly,” Krueger says. The downside, perhaps, is the name is less indicative of what NewBridge provides to 3,500 older adults, a range of services from intensive — case management and guardianships — to casual activities. Its staff of 39 (plus two part-time bus drivers) includes 16 case managers and three mental health specialists.
A keystone of NewBridge’s services is its weekday meal sites located around the city. Monday-Friday there are multiple options for a hot meal at noon that also offers an important chance for socializing. “That contact is incredibly important,” says Krueger.
Volunteers help with home chores and deliver groceries from food pantries to qualifying seniors via the Food Bridge program. Foot care clinics take place six times a month. Monday through Friday, daily activities include exercise, cooking, dance and art classes, yoga, mindfulness, euchre, bingo, mah jong and sewing groups. Activities in Spanish include exercise, embroidery and sewing. Krueger notes that the agency’s inclusion of Spanish speakers goes back 40 years.
Linda Falkenstein
A new minibus delivers seniors to activities.
NewBridge has three offices (north, west and Monona) but its activities and meals take place at more than a dozen sites, including churches, the Madison Senior Center, branch libraries and even the Madison Labor Temple. This year, NewBridge purchased a new minibus to deliver seniors to and from NewBridge activities across the city, fulfilling the group’s mission to make the city more livable for seniors. “We’re very excited about it,” Krueger says.
Executive director Jim Krueger.
NewBridge has a budget of $2.8 million, with funding coming from the city of Madison, Dane County, and to a lesser extent Monona, along with the United Way, grants and donations. Whether or not the city budget referendum passes on Nov. 5, Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway is proposing to cut 75% of the $350,000 requested by the agency for 2025 to spread those funds among a greater number of area nonprofits to provide culturally relevant activities among senior BIPOC residents.
Krueger believes funding agencies that serve senior BIPOC populations is helpful and that cooperation among the agencies will increase collaboration. But for NewBridge, the cut will reduce its capacity for case management. Earlier this year NewBridge caught up with a waitlist for case management in effect since before the pandemic; with cuts, the group foresees a return to as much as an 8-10 week waitlist, and serving 80-100 fewer older adults. Funding will also decrease for activities and health screenings, the home chore program, and volunteer guardian training.
“Bottom line, we need more funding for older adults,” says Krueger.
This article is part of The Nonprofit Issue, the special November 2024 print edition of Isthmus. See the other stories here.
