Facilities Manager Steve Jameson Celebrates 10+ Years at Bridging!

For over a decade, Bridging Facilities Manager Steve Jameson has played an essential leadership role in Bridging’s facilities and operations.  Steve is dedicated to Bridging’s mission and is grateful to have known and worked with Founder Fran Heitzman.

“You saw Fran’s passion and how it transferred to everyone here at Bridging.  Our mission is so important in helping people get some stability.  Fran always spoke about how wonderful it was to see the excitement of the families, especially the children, when they received their furniture in their homes.  Nearly half of our clients are kids under 18, and to see how excited the kids would get was really meaningful.”

Steve enjoys building relationships with the many people he interacts with, including clients, volunteers, corporate partners, and community donors.

“I enjoy visiting with clients and volunteers and staying close to the mission.  It’s wonderful to talk with people at community events like Bridging’s annual Bring a Blanket drive, as well as working at our donation door.  It’s really what we’re all about”

Steve’s keen ability to manage the big picture of facilities and operations, down to the minute details, has helped build Bridging’s capacity and efficiency to meet the rising community demand for its services.

Steve has served in several important operational roles at Bridging.  He describes some key operational milestones at Bridging that he is grateful to have helped facilitate:

2006- Steve joined Bridging.

“When I started in 2006, I didn’t have a title,” he says with a chuckle.  “We had just gotten our first 26-foot truck, and I used it to collect corporate donations.  We only had four other employees in the Bloomington warehouse, and we didn’t do deliveries.”

2007- Steve became the Bloomington Warehouse Supervisor.

2008- Bridging began the Delivery program in Bloomington.  Steve was charged with hiring new employees to carry out the program.

2009- Bridging’s residential pick-up program transitioned to a fee-based program.

2014- Steve returned to Bridging after a three-year hiatus to take over as the Operations and Logistics Manager. He served in this role for the next eight years.  Steve managed both facilities, two warehouse teams, and the fleet of trucks.

2015- Bridging signed the purchase papers for its new Roseville location and launched a $4 million capital campaign, led by Fran and Bridging’s new Executive Director Mark Wilkening.

2016- Bridging moved into its new facility, across the street from the building it had leased since 2006.  The new warehouse, with a larger lobby, more space for furniture and household goods, and a large area for storage, provided a facility that greatly enhanced the shopping experience for clients.

2022- Steve secured his role as Bridging’s Facilities Manager, focusing on facilities maintenance, truck leasing, and residential and corporate donations.

“Donors are thankful for what we do. The vast majority of people want to pass along good, quality items, so families can have them for their homes.  It’s a community effort.”

Steve is excited about Bridging’s future and growing community impact.

“The good news is we keep growing.  The bad news is we need to keep growing because the need for our services is so great.  We’re bigger than ever because we need to increase the number of appointments that will, in turn, decrease the wait times for shopping appointments and meet the growing needs of our clients.”

Steve is thrilled that Bridging plans to open its third location in Plymouth in early 2025.  The warehouse will serve as another donation drop-off site and a base for increasing residential pick-ups in new zip codes in the west metro area.

“I’m really excited about the new location.  The new Plymouth location will be a launching point to allow more donations to come in.  Overall, we will be able to serve 13 new zip codes and have more capacity to increase shopping appointments in Bloomington and Roseville.”

The Bridging team expresses its gratitude to Steve for his years of service at Bridging. His expertise and passion for the mission will help Bridging grow and furnish more homes with hope for years to come.

Learn more about Bridging’s new Plymouth location. [LINK]