Hosted by the International Baccalaureate Honor Society, the annual Bridge for Peace fundraising event was held at the Coral Gables Museum with the goal of raising money for causes that can impact our community. This year’s proceeds will be going towards Caring for Miami’s Backpack Program.

Every year, Coral Gables Senior High’s IBHS organizes Bridge for Peace and, with student input, chooses an organization or charity to raise money for. Any student in Gables can choose an organization for Bridge for Peace, and they have the opportunity to present their ideas in front of the IBHS officers. Caring for Miami, this year’s selection, has multiple missions, one being providing children in need with meals that they can prepare on their own. The money raised with Bridge for Peace will go to that specific mission.

Tickets to attend Bridge for Peace were $20 on presale and to pay at the door. The event started at 6 p.m. and was set up on the patio in front of the Coral Gables Museum. Students in IBHS were able to work with the museum’s management to use it as the venue for this year’s Bridge for Peace.

The IBHS board members came in on Wednesday at 9 a.m. to set up and stayed throughout the whole day. Cavaliers also had the opportunity to volunteer for different committees such as set-up, serving and clean-up. Those in charge of serving food were divided into two separate shifts, each lasting about an hour.

Against the wall of the museum, food was set up, and tables were decorated for guests to eat. The food available was mostly from student donations, displaying different cultures as some dishes were unique to a specific country. Instruments were also set up for two student bands to play throughout the night. At the entrance, there was a photo booth for students, which was very popular with a long line forming to take pictures to keep memories of the event and get some extra credit along the way.

“I heavily rely on my officers in the IBHS board, giving them specific roles and things to be in charge of. It is just like an orchestra and I’m the director, and it all works out like a symphony when everyone does their job. This year’s B4P has been a success and seeing everybody come and contribute to the cause makes me so happy,” IBHS sponsor Ms. Noval said.

The event also showcased Gables’ diversity. The Bhangra club danced for the guests, and a fashion show debuted at 7 p.m., demonstrating traditional clothes of various places around the globe. Students represented countries like England with traditional military outfits, Spain with their national soccer kit and Brazil with a traditional green and blue feathered costume.

After the Gables band and chorus performed, senior Ella Londoño and her band performed the closing songs of the night. At 8 p.m., guests were asked to leave so the clean-up committee could put everything away back inside the museum.

“This year’s Bridge for Peace event was amazing, I had never been to a Bridge for Peace event hosted at the Coral Gables museum since last year as a freshman they came up with something else due to covid. It was very fun and I loved the fashion show and the different bands that came to perform for us. I also loved being able to hang out with all the people from school and just socializing with everyone, overall it was a great experience,” sophomore Veronica Montalvo said.

This year’s Bridge for Peace ended as a success with over 400 students participating and coming to the event. It also generated over $11,000 for the Caring for Miami charity organization. Ultimately, the event was full of energy and life, and it showed people how they can make a difference and help those in need, making this year’s Bridge for Peace as impactful as its previous iterations.