Letter of Resignation

[Terrell Pollard]

Team,

Happy Belated Valentine's Day. It has been an awesome 11 years, 13 years, if you count the couple of years we took to plan, build infrastructure, train and gain some footing.

The Bridge's last ESL and Citizenship semester was Spring 2018. My father was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer during that semester.  Things were looking pretty bleak, but immunotherapy seems to be giving him more time than we thought we would have.  I was characteristically, unrealistically hopeful that things would smooth out and I would be able to resume classes for Spring 2019. Although my Dad is doing surprisingly well, helping him manage his real estate business is very time and energy consuming, and I cannot return to managing classes.

I am primarily writing to say thank you. I learned a lot about the human heart, ingenuity, resilience, generosity, patience, ability to shatter conventional wisdom, surpass potential, and seemingly bottomless hope. I am very grateful to have met you and work with you. I am equally grateful for what we accomplished and the students we helped and what we learned from them. I'd be glad to help you all in any way I can. JUST SAY THE WORD. My cell phone, (804) 433-5361 (TEXTING IS WELCOME) has not changed, and I will keep this address active for another year.  If you'd like to continue helping with ESL classes, a document with a list of those programs is attached. I will be sending this same list to our students. I am looking for someone to translate it into Spanish. I am not that hopeful about it, but Arabic, Somali, Mandarin and French would be nice too. 

 ESL Programs in the Richmond Metropolitan Area

I will continue working in the community. As some of you know, I grew up in East End in Henrico and had a great childhood in large part due to Henrico Prevention Service's violence and drug use after-school programs. For sometime, I have served on the Board of Directors of Henrico Too Smart 2 Start Coalition.  It is a coalition of organizations committed to preventing Henrico youth from misusing substances. I will continue serving on that. A think tank is a lot lighter work load than managing a program. Every 4 years since 2011, I have helped Frank Thornton, Henrico's Fairfield District (East End Henrico) Supervisor, with his reelection campaigns. I will be helping him with his final run for his final term. I'll be treating this commitment like a buffet. I'll chime in and out as I am able. I owe both a lot. Feel free to contact me if you every want to help out with these.  For anyone interested in gaining experience in politics, it is a great opportunity for you.  

I truly value our relationships. I ask that we check in on one another from time to time and/or link up for coffee or a bite to eat. If you're interested in celebrating the close of this chapter, The Bridge CDC's ESL classes with me, please send me an email at tpol...@bridgeamerica.org. It'd be great to meet as a group and grab bite, have drinks, dance, whatever you think is a great send off for us. Whatever you do, please remain active in the community. Always keep something in addition to your core job that invests in society, and for the love of God make sure it allows you to have balance between personal, professional and societal commitments. 

See you soon,

Terrell Pollard

The Bridge CDC

(804) 506-0863 office
(804) 433-5361 cell