Bridges to Learning

Bridges to Learning is a non-profit 501 c(3) corporation founded in September 2004 and based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Founded in 2004 by Jerilyn Hirsch and husband, Bob Mac Murdo, Bridges to Learning strives to provide resources for the education, well-being and social interaction of impoverished and under-served children in developing countries.

When she turned 60, Jerilyn Hirsch decided to retire from her career as an organization development consultant and do something to “make the world a better place.” Drawn to humanitarian work in Vietnam, she learned that Anh Linh Free school needed to start an English program for its students.

Living in Vietnam, the amazing experience teaching and working with the other teachers and staff at Anh Linh changed her life. After seeing the impact his work had on students’ lives, Jerri, with her husband Bob Mac Murdo, founded Bridges to Learning to continue this rewarding – and important – work.

Jerri has a motto: “Making a difference is a choice, not an accident.” She continues to inspire others on many continents to make the same choice.

From those modest origins, Bridges to Learning has grown into an internationally recognized charity, providing sponsored support and funds to 257 of Anh Linh school’s 300 children, awarding stipends for students attending public schools and expanding its work to the Viet Anh school, sponsoring 60 of its 300 students.

In 1990, the Vietnamese government allowed the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame to open a free school for some of the poorest children in Saigon. The first 17 students were the children of prostitutes, and the first school occupied a former pigsty.

The school moved into a row of rooms in 1998, which became the Anh Linh Free School. Jerilyn Fosdick Hirsch arrived as a volunteer English teacher in March of 2004. By the fall of the same year, with her husband Bob Mac Murdo, she founded Bridges to Learning to assist the school and its children.

2017 saw the Bridges to Learning’s work expand to the Viet Anh Primary School, which serves a more economically challenged rural area.

From the beginning, Bridges to Learning has supported, financed and funded projects that nurture potential and provide opportunities to underserved students and children.

Bridges to Learning provides education, health and social development programs to empower impoverished Vietnamese children to change their world. We are a Minneapolis, Minnesota based nonprofit that raises awareness of the educational needs of impoverished children in Vietnam and provides funding to two schools.