bridges San Diego

Volunteer With Us


Cook for Bridges International Dinner @ UCSD

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Every Tuesday at UCSD we have Bridges Dinner. This event is a great place for international students to grow in community together. This involves a hangout time, a home-cooked meal, a Bible study time, and dessert. For dessert, the cooks will either provide that for the students or invite everyone to walk to get dessert at a local shop together.

For each event, we need a small group to bring a meal to share with these amazing students. We know your schedule is busy so we want to be clear that you have the option to either simply drop off the food or bring the food and stick around to hang out with students.

 

Choose a date from the tool below and click the 5:30 time slot. Then fill in your information and someone from our team will reach out to you soon.

Here are some important details to know for Bridges Dinner:

  • SCHEDULE (Every Tuesday Night)
    • 5:30 PM – Set up (You can arrive earlier if your meal requires more preparation)
    • 6:00 PM – Dinner
    • 7:00 PM – Cleanup
    • 7:30 PM – Dessert (if brought)
  • ATTENDANCE
    • We expect an average of around 25-30 students to be at each event
    • Attendance can vary at these events. At the beginning of the school year, the numbers can be above average. It’s a good idea to ask a Bridges staff person when thinking of how many to shop and cook for.
  • DIET
    • The main meal portion is usually something with chicken, as it fits into most students’ dietary restrictions, but we like to also have a vegetarian option.
    • We want to have some vegetables, either in the main dish or as a side, to make it a well-rounded meal.
    • For many of our students, rice is a staple in a full meal. Most of our students like white rice cooked for the meal, but if you also want to add some other starch (or even another type of rice) that also works.
    • If you have different ideas to these, please let us know so we can help you troubleshoot and brainstorm.
  • SHOPPING
    • Try to plan for $10 per person. Try to make this your maximum when purchasing ingredients.
    • Make sure to keep all of your receipts to give to us on the day. We will then reimburse you for your purchases.
    • Also see “Attendance” section above.
  • GET A TEAM
    • It’s good to have some help. We suggest at least a team of 3 or more. Make it fun!
  • LOCATION & PARKING
    • We will be meeting on campus at UCSD. The room/location can vary from week to week right now, but we will send you the location with parking information after you have signed up for dates to cook.
    • Parking in and around UCSD is notoriously tough, but they often have plenty of parking spaces in the evening in nearby lots.
  • COOKING
    • For most weeks, there WILL NOT be a place to cook on-site for each room/location. You will have to cook ahead of time and bring the meal ready to eat. Using single-use foil pans works really well.
    • For those times when we DO have a cooking area on-site, you can bring the items to cook at the location.

 

If you have any questions or thoughts, contact Sam Davis – samuel.davis@bridgesinternational.com

Another great opportunity to volunteer with Bridges is…

Friends For Dinner: Thanksgiving

Friends for Dinner is a hospitality initiative taken by churches and Christian ministries that brings International Students into the homes of local Christian hosts for a tasty meal during a traditional holiday. During these meals, friendships are created and opportunities to share the love of Christ are born.

Hosting an international student through Friends for Dinner is a great way to apply what you have learned on EveryInternational. Especially if you have not yet taken the first step to build a relationship with an international. For this specific event, you can invite 1 or more international students into your home for your Thanksgiving meal that you are already having, so they can experience a warm, home-cooked meal in a family environment while they are away from home.

Read more here or sign up by clicking the button above.

bridges leader team 2023

Why Volunteer with Bridges San Diego?

San Diego is host to one of the largest populations of international students in the world, so it’s no surprise that we often need to call on a few extra people to serve and love them well.

By signing up to volunteer, you are expressing interest in helping international students feel more welcome in San Diego. From airport pickups and carpooling students to events to helping plan events and even discipling some students. Our volunteers are a vital part of what God is doing in San Diego. Join the team!

Sign up to volunteer or learn more