You turn down a long road, tires crunching the gravel. There is a white picket fence to your right, a field stretched out behind it, filled with horses and a little donkey grazing on the soft grass. Everywhere you walk, you are greeted warmly and enthusiastically by the residents. Sounds like a dream, right? It’s real, and it’s called the Marbridge Foundation, a non-profit residential community that provides lifetime care to those with cognitive and intellectual disabilities.
Image by the Marbridge Foundation
The Furniture Mall recently volunteered at the Marbridge Foundation and helped get their campus ready for the holidays. It was their biggest volunteer group they’ve had to date on their 200-acre campus. Their staff is small because they want all donations to be distributed to their residents, so we were put to work! Our volunteers were separated into groups to cover different tasks: painting the fence on the ranch, hanging lights, setting up Christmas trees in the residents’ buildings and homes, and even some landscaping.
Jazmin decorating a Christmas tree in one of the residential buildings
Marbridge’s employees greeted us with enthusiasm and humility. Becca McPherson, Vice-President of Development, has worked with Marbridge for about 5 years. In discussing the mission of Marbridge, McPherson said, “We all dream to be able to age in place, and age peacefully. So, why should an adult with cognitive disabilities have to bounce from program to program? Our founders Ed and Marge Bridges, in 1953, had that vision way before anybody else—they were way ahead of their time. That has been our continued goal.”
Image by the Marbridge Foundation
Ed and Marge Bridges had a son, Jim, who was born with cognitive and intellectual disabilities. When Jim was born, doctors told the Bridges to leave their son in their care; they would put him in an institution and the two of them could go and enjoy the rest of their lives together. It was truly a different time. The Bridges thought that there had got to be more options out in the world for their son but soon realized there weren’t.
They had two options: hide their son away from the world in an institution or create a new history for people like Jim. They made their decision, and in 1953, Marbridge was founded.
Now, the campus has expanded to hold 273 adults with cognitive and intellectual disabilities. There are also 3 different care communities that are continuing to expand: The Villa, The Ranch, and The Village—the latter being the community that started our partnership with Marbridge. A new cottage was built for the Village, and they wanted McPherson to oversee the furnishing of it. Without skipping a beat, McPherson knew immediately who to go to after watching how Austin’s Couch Potatoes helped the greater community with the ice storm earlier this year.
Image of our volunteers by the Marbridge Foundation
"I originally went to Austin’s Couch Potatoes’ warehouse, and they referred me to The Furniture Mall of Texas, and it was just—everybody was fantastic. I met Richard and he said, 'I think this is going to be fantastic, I think I’ve got exactly what you guys need.' So, we now have the cottage furnished and it just snowballed from there." McPherson said.
Just from volunteering on their campus, one can tell the unique difference of Marbridge from what the general public understands of nursing facilities that house adults with cognitive disabilities. The Marbridge Foundation is one in three that can serve the life-long care of adults with intellectual and cognitive disabilities. They do not just accommodate their residents; they specialize in taking care of them and enabling them to thrive. There are residents that in their licensed skilled nursing facilities that have down-syndrome in their 70’s and 80’s—which is unheard of in other places.
“All of our residents who have jobs are tax-paying citizens and they are proud of it. They just needed someone who could work with them at their level, to meet them where they were at. That’s what Marbridge is all about, meeting our residents where they are. They continue to be contributing members of the entire central Texas community,” said McPherson, on the stigma that surrounds adults with cognitive and intellectual disabilities.
Image by the Marbridge Foundation
We look forward to the continued partnership with the Marbridge Foundation, and our combined goals of giving back to the greater community. McPherson acknowledged that not many people know of Marbridge because they don’t want to flash their mission in people’s faces but hope their actions will speak louder than their words. When asked what people should know about Marbridge, that doesn’t get talked about enough, McPherson responded.
“Just us.”