In the midst of a crisis that looms larger than life, what seems minor can make a major difference. Take, for instance, the Puerto Rico high school senior who, last fall, found herself attending Miami Edison Senior High School. One of the hundreds of students forced to evacuate hurricane-battered Puerto Rico and temporarily resettle in South Florida, she had to … Read More
LESSONS FROM HURRICANE IRMA: GETTING FOOD TO MIAMIANS WHO NEED IT MOST, POST STORM
Armed with a small grill from home – and as many hot dogs, potato chip bags and water bottles as she could get her hands on two days after Hurricane Irma pummeled Miami – Valencia Gunder headed straight into the heart of Liberty City to serve meals to the area’s residents, many of whom had not eaten since before the storm. When she finished there, the founder of local nonprofit Make the Homeless Smile and her small army of volunteers marched over to Little Haiti and did the same.
MEET FOUR NONPROFITS EQUIPPING MIAMIANS TO USE THEIR VOICE
Last year, I had the opportunity to visit a local prison through Exchange for Change, a Miami-based nonprofit that teaches writing in prisons and runs letter exchanges between incarcerated students and classes at local high schools and universities. They hosted a talent showcase featuring more than two dozen incarcerated men celebrating their graduation from the program at Dade Correctional Institution. … Read More
PUERTO RICO, STILL IN HURRICANE RECOVERY, FOCUSES ON RESILIENCE
In the days after Hurricane Maria swept through Puerto Rico, leaving the island crippled and in the dark, San Juan-native Karla Peña, faced her own bleak reality. “My husband lost his job. The nonprofit pet rescue I ran was essentially out of business. And our Airbnb, which we counted on for money to live, obviously shut down,” she recalls. “I … Read More
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