Meet Our 2026-2027 Pro Bono Client: Community Bridges
WWPR is thrilled to announce Community Bridges as our pro bono client for 2026-2027. After reviewing 34 applications from exceptional organizations across the DMV area, Community Bridges stood out for its transformational impact, strategic readiness, and powerful untold stories.
EMPOWERING THE NEXT GENERATION OF LEADERS
Community Bridges empowers girls from under-resourced communities in Montgomery County, Maryland, to become resilient young women who thrive as students, engaged community members, and confident leaders. Through year-round leadership development, academic support, and college readiness programming, they serve girls in grades 4-12, often helping a single girl for more than 10 years.
Their outcomes speak for themselves: last year, 100% of Community Bridges' high school seniors graduated and enrolled in college. They are eager to work with the experts in WWPR’s membership to strengthen their reach and visibility.
"We believe that with WWPR's guidance and expertise, we can expand our reach, strengthen our communications capacity, and inspire broader community engagement," said Shannon Babe-Thomas, Executive Director of Community Bridges. "Ultimately, we want to enable more girls and families to benefit from our programs."
WHY COMMUNITY BRIDGES
The WWPR Pro Bono & Social Impact Committee, co-chaired by Christina Crawley and Alicia Aebersold, selected Community Bridges after a rigorous evaluation process that included a deep assessment of organizational capacity, impact potential, and execution readiness.
"Community Bridges has the perfect combination of compelling stories to tell and the infrastructure to implement strategic communications," said Crawley. "They've built an incredible program with proven results. Now we get to help them amplify those stories to attract new supporters, strengthen partnerships, and expand their reach."
Community Bridges already has strong foundations in place—including a signature annual gala that raises $100K, active social media channels, and established partnerships with organizations like Wells Fargo and Montgomery County Public Schools. WWPR's support will help them scale strategically through media training, storytelling frameworks, and capacity-building guidance.
A NEW WAY TO SERVE: THE WWPR NONPROFIT COMMUNICATIONS TOOLKIT
The competitive selection process for our new pro bono client revealed something important: dozens of worthy organizations need communications expertise, but we only have one slot for a pro bono client.
That's why the WWPR Pro Bono Committee is launching a new initiative in early 2026: the WWPR Nonprofit Communications Toolkit. This program will provide free educational resources—including one-page guides, expert Q&As, and potentially webinars—available to any nonprofit in the DMV area.
The Toolkit will allow WWPR to share its expertise more widely while creating opportunities for more members to contribute.
GET INVOLVED
WWPR members interested in supporting Community Bridges or contributing to the Toolkit initiative can join the Pro Bono & Social Impact Committee email list by contacting Christina Crawley or Alicia Aebersold. Opportunities will include everything from media training and messaging support to creating educational resources for the nonprofit community.
We'll share more details about the partnership kickoff and Toolkit launch very soon. In the meantime, we invite you to learn more about Community Bridges at communitybridges-md.org.
Here's to two years of empowering young women to lead!
ABOUT WWPR'S PRO BONO & SOCIAL IMPACT PROGRAM
Since 2003, Washington Women in Public Relations has partnered with nonprofit organizations to provide strategic communications support, capacity building, and expertise. The program reflects WWPR's commitment to strengthening our community while providing members with meaningful opportunities to give back through their professional skills.
CONTACT:
Christina Crawley, Pro Bono & Social Impact Committee Co-Chair
Alicia Aebersold, Pro Bono & Social Impact Committee Co-Chairprobono@wwpr.org
