During an Aug. 15 press conference conducted at Goulds Park The Children’s Trust (TCT) presented a grant check of $1.8 million to the Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade to enhance the existing year-round Fit2Lead Youth Development and Internship program for at-risk youth. It is the largest grant award in the history of the Parks Foundation and is aimed at combating poverty, juvenile delinquency and encouraging investment by local business back into the community.
The TCT grant will allow the nationally acclaimed Fit2Lead program of the Miami-Dade Parks Department to provide opportunities for 50 high-need teens, grades 9-12, to be matched with employment opportunities via businesses in the Goulds, Perrine and Richmond Heights-areas which serve as community partner-mentors. It also will facilitate Fit2Lead’s year-long academic support, social-emotional learning and skill-building in job coaching, the arts, sports and college readiness.
The first-of-its-kind Fit2Lead program aims to foster positive youth trajectories that will reduce juvenile delinquency and arrests, improve attendance and conduct at school and increase graduation rates through effective prevention, case management and utilization of community intervention and treatment opportunities. Since its inception in 2016, Fit2Lead has produced groundbreaking findings, including a 30 percent reduction in crime, where the program was provided.
“This new Children’s Trust grant enables us to take Fit2Lead to the next level and connect businesses right here in your own backyard with local teens, so that you can learn a skill or a trade…where you explore your interests and perhaps get inspired to go to college or pursue a career,” said Raul Garcia, president, Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade.
Among the guest speakers were Miami-Dade Parks director Maria I. Nardi; Miami-Dade County Commissioner Dennis C. Moss; representatives from The Children’s Trust, Together for Children, and Accelerate South Dade. They were joined by Fit2Lead program participants and several community and business partners.
Nardi, acknowledging Fit2Lead youth attendees, said, “By being here, you are saying that you are willing to work to make your dreams come true, and I am so glad that Miami-Dade Parks and the Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade can help you on your journey.”
Commissioner Moss, a staunch supporter of the Fit2Lead program, added, “I want to encourage you to make the right choices this new school year. Let the Youth Development and Internship program be the first decision you make before school starts. My door is always open. I wish each of you lots of success. You are the only one who can do the work, so do it…and be proud!”
Fit2Lead is a five-year job training and personal development program. Participants are referred by Miami-Dade County’s Juvenile Services Department, local school counselors and park staff within the community. Individuals receive a part-time job for the duration of the program. They will be hired and paid through the Parks Foundation and matched to a business based on their expressed interest. The grant requires that they work no more than 10 hours per week and no more than 265 hours in a calendar year.
