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After Hurricane Dorian tore through the Bahamas, Miami Palmetto High School rising senior Robert Acosta took action. He started a fundraiser called Bahamian Bellz to raise money for a toy drive for the children of the Bahamas.
He recruited friends and family members for the drive. He went on social media and worked to get his classmates to spread the word. He sought permission from the Bahamian Ministry of Education to send the toys to school children.
He also asked and partnered with the global humanitarian organization Third Wave for help transporting the toys to the Bahamas.
“They agreed to do it at no cost!” he says. “They were also trying to raise toys for the Bahamian kids.”
Bahamian Bellz raised nearly $1000 and he used that to buy approximately 800 toys. The toys ranged from sports equipment, Barbie dolls and fishing kits.
Acosta used to compete in USTA tennis tournaments. He planned to use tennis as a means to go to college. He trained every day after school for three to four hours. At age 12 he was ranked in the top 15 junior players in Florida.
“But then in just one match, everything suddenly changed,” he says. “It was the end of summer vacation and I was competing in a local tournament. I was winning and was ready to close out the match. But something went wrong.”
He tripped and broke both wrists and his tailbone in a freak accident during the match.
“It took months for me to heal,” he says. “I couldn’t really swing a tennis racket for many months. Gradually I learned to hold the racket again, but it wasn’t the same. The accident had significantly changed my ability to be the competitive player I once was.”
He tried to play himself into shape but he says, “the losses began to outnumber the wins.”
So he decided to focus on academics, extracurricular activities and community service.
This summer he is working with the Tennis305 program at Continental Park. He volunteers to offer lessons for children who want to play tennis but don’t have the financial means.
“Tennis lessons are very expensive,” he says.
He works with Tennis305 coach and director Elizabeth Levinson several times a week. His plan is to continue the tennis program through the school year.
Because of his interest in becoming a doctor, he grabbed the opportunity to volunteer at the Community Health of South Florida (CHI). He volunteers two days a week and will continue to until the end of the summer.
Acosta has also volunteered with Project PEACE and Share Your Heart organizations doing food drives during the pandemic in low income neighborhoods.
“We put together food packages from huge donations,” he says. “We also distribute the food to the local residents in need in Naranja and Goulds,”
At school, Acosta played on the Palmetto varsity tennis team. He plans to try out again for his senior year. He’s a member of the National Honor Society, My Alpha Theta, the Science National Honor Society, the English Honor Society, the Biology Club, Key Club, and the Finance Club.
In college, he wants to major in pre-med so he can become an orthopedic surgeon or an anesthesiologist.
He’s considering applying to the University of Florida, the University of Miami, Duke, University of Michigan and University of Pennsylvania.
Acosta has earned an Outstanding Leadership Award from the PTSA and he was on the team that won the Envirothon S.E. Region Runner-Up Award.
Linda Rodriguez Bernfeld
