Columbia is a caring, sharing community; there are a number of organizations in place that provide comfort for those in need. One of these organizations is Piece of the Bridge Ministries.

Recently, the founders, the husband and wife team of Pastor Ricardo Laboy and Marilyn (Lilly) Ortiz-Alicea sent this information to Columbia news, views & reviews following a conversation with Mary Ellen Graybill during which she invited them to share their story with others in Columbia.

“Most of his information is in the booklet. We are a nonprofit organization. As you may or may not know, what we do is all through God who keeps us. Some of the residents in the Upper Room as we call the house are without work or very little income if any. We have those who will contribute to the expenses and needs yet the rest comes from the only sponsor we have who is Pastor Conrad and his congregation, Christ Covenant, in Conestoga. We also have a few people who will give donations i.e. monetary, clothing, food, furniture etc.

“We, however, are looking for more sponsors that will be willing to give on a monthly base so that all the expense of the Upper Room is met. Most of the finances come from our own pockets, or fundraiser if we have the time to have any, but mainly our pockets. This for us is getting harder and harder every month. It hurts to know the amount of people out there that we have had to turn away because we do not have the room.

“With sponsorship we will be able to get a bigger home to bring more from out of the streets.

“These people are strangers to us, we don’t know them from a can of paint but the LOVE that we have for them surpasses all that. We love them for who they are and for what they can become. Not for where they come from or who they use to be! Through Piece of the Bridge Ministries we have seen lives changed for the better some don’t want to change but we love them just the same.

Our goal is to help as many as we can First through Christ and by loving them and showing them they can get back on their feet. We need the help of others by “becoming a Sponsor of POTBM. We are quick to help other in other areas and locations but what about here in our own community. What happens to them? We can lose it all in a matter of minutes even seconds if family turn you away if friends turn you away and if society turn you away then who can you go to if there was no Piece Of The Bridge Ministry.

“What we do we do because we Love, Believe, and feel their pain. While others may do it for the fame, recognition or even the benefits that follow.

“This is what we are about! We hold daily devotions @ 9:00 then our day begins with driving people to appointments, counseling, seeking employment etc.

“Thank you again and God Bless you!

“I want to also add that on August 30, 2011, we lost our friend Gary Ness. You will see in the bookletwith his long beard. He had been homeless for over 20 years Gary went home to be with the Lord, but he was not out on the streets homeless he passed away in the arms of another homeless man who because there was a Piece of the Bridge Ministry Home, Gary did not die alone, under a bridge, hidden in park, behind a store, or in the wooded area by the train tracks. He passed on with a roof over his head and Love surrounding him.”