Gibraltar Private Bank & Trust recently hosted a reception at its Coral Gables office for YES Institute to commemorate the current success of the Gibraltar Private Teacher Education Fund.
The event recognized Gibraltar Private’s financial involvement that aided in YES Institute providing more than 20 Miami-Dade County Public Title 1 Schools with education and training on gender and orientation. More than 400 parents, teachers, and students were provided with powerful communication on how to ensure the safety of all students. The evening also acknowledged YES Institute donors, and their commitment to the safety and healthy development of all youth.
Emilio Vasquez, senior vice president and market executive for the Downtown Miami office, serves on the board of YES Institute, and has taken a vested interest in the success of this non-profit organization. The bank’s donation provides the financial assistance to educate Miami-Dade County teachers through online and in-person training on the challenges that affect students’ well-being in the classroom.
“We are delighted to fund such an amazing program that ensures the healthy development of all children throughout South Florida,” said T.L. Brown, senior vice president and director of Growth Strategies & Client Experience. “YES Institute is a valuable source for knowledge on gender and orientation, and we support their work in addressing discrimination and bullying in schools.”
YES Institute promotes the healthy development of all youth through education and communication on gender and orientation. Through the training and communication led by YES Institute, participants of each session have been able to share their beliefs while examining the bearing that anti-gay and gender-stereotyping slurs have on individuals. Since its inception in 1996, YES Institute has been a leader in providing quality research-based education for youth and families.
“We are truly grateful for the support that Gibraltar Private has given to YES Institute to ensure the success of our educational programming,” said Luke Jude, executive director. “We are seeing the impact the program is making in the schools that we reach.”
YES Institute began in Miami as a community-based initiative in 1996 to address the high rates of teenage suicide impacting young people who identified or were labeled as gay. In 2003, YES Institute added cutting-edge education courses on gender.
Today, over 20 years later, YES Institute is a leader in providing powerful, action-oriented dialogue and quality research-based education on the topics of suicide, violence prevention, and health disparities for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth, adults, and their families.
Each year, the organization conducts nearly 200 presentations and courses and serves more than 8,500 people across South Florida and the U.S. for a wide variety of communities — parents and students, nurses and medical personnel, school teachers and administrators, counselors and psychologists, business executives, police departments, and other non-profits and human service organizations.
For more information visit www.yesinstitute.org.
