Catalyst Miami: 2012

Friday, December 28, 2012

A Moment to Reflect for a New Year of Good Work

Written by Felix Acuña, Catalyst Miami New Media Coordinator

As I think about the events that have stirred me this past year, I wonder whether there’s any time to rest. I’m thinking about the millions of people living in poverty, those who face a myriad of financial stresses that threaten their potential to be self-sufficient and escape the stigmas associated with deprivation. There is a lot to be done. This New Year’s weekend we’ll have the opportunity to replenish our strength as we connect to what’s good in our lives: friendship, abundance, love, and with all of these, the desire to face the upcoming year with the determination and courage we need in order to honor our values.

Looking ahead to the New Year, there is a lot to be hopeful about. At Catalyst Miami, we are excited about the formation of a powerful network of service providers working together to alter the conditions that cause poverty: the Miami Thrives Network.

I have faith in this network's capacity for collaboration. It will be supported by all of us without any claims of ownership. It will be a network of justice. I have faith that we will be driven by leadership, with the passion it’ll take to help us reach sustainability. It will be a network for the years to come. I have faith that we will foster innovation, working beyond traditional schemas for addressing inequality. It will be a network of inspiration. I have faith in our capacity to be driven by self-empowerment, so that we may tap into our enormous emotional, intellectual, and spiritual resources. It will be a network of determination. I have faith that we will do this work with compassion. All of our actions will come from a place of care and will take us to a place of care: the just and equitable society we honor in our vision.

As we imagine the future of this network, we’re also keeping in mind how we’ll embody these catalyzing values with the rest of our projects. We hope to honor our commitments to collaboration as we continue to participate in the state-wide initiative to bring visibility to the much needed Medicaid expansion. We also are eager to see the launch of our upcoming Parent Leadership Training Institute and SoundOut sessions, in which parents and youth will learn about the value and process behind civic engagement.

Stay tuned for all the activities that we’ll be leading and promoting this year. Have a happy, generous, and abundant 2013!

Thursday, December 20, 2012

A Face of Local Leadership

Contributed by Public Allies Miami

As a Miami native growing up in a low-income neighborhood, Ricky Smith noticed that he and other kids in his neighborhood only had sports to fall back on. He joined Public Allies in 2011 with this in mind.

Prior to joining the 2011 Ally class, Ricky envisioned giving back to his community in profound ways. He wanted to serve as a volunteer service corp member and later start a nonprofit focused on empowering “at-risk” juvenile males. While placed with Miami-Dade County Schools as a Public Ally, he had the challenging job of helping children with vision impairments obtain glasses at little to no cost.

As an emerging leader, Ricky served nearly 3,000 kids during his year of service. He currently works for Miami-Dade County Parks and will be returning to school in the spring to continue in his community engagement and learning journey.

And as for the future, don't be surprised if you see Ricky Smith's name on a local ballot!

What is Public Allies Miami?

Public Allies Miami is part of the national movement that believes everyone leads. At Public Allies Miami, we believe changing times call for a new kind of leadership. Since 2007, Public Allies Miami has developed more than 100 young leaders. Allies are young, diverse, and passionate social change makers who support community projects in partnership with hundreds of local nonprofits. Public Allies Miami helps to develop the leadership skills needed for our members to have successful and sustainable projects. We do this by placing developing leaders in local nonprofit organizations for 10-month apprenticeships. This year Public Allies Miami will graduate its sixth class. Currently, we have 22 Allies placed at 14 different partner organizations.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Twelve O'Clock Midnight Starts Give Miami Day

Starting midnight tonight, GiveMiamiDay.org goes live!

Catalyst Miami is one of nearly 300 nonprofits participating in The Miami Foundation's inaugural Give Miami day, a unique 24-hour online giving opportunity for people to support their favorite nonprofits in South Florida.

The Miami Foundation will match a percentage of all donations between $25 and $10,000 made through the site. By donating to Catalyst Miami, you will support outreach and program efforts designed to make Miami THRIVE!

Catalyst Miami will kick-off our "Sleepless in Miami" live-stream event at 12 midnight for Give Miami day. Don't miss YOUR chance to be part of the fun.

Click here to tune-in and join us live for 24-hours of fun activities including online interviews, movies, yoga, t'ai chi, music, and so much more!

Check out a special video-message from our CEO/ Founder, Daniella Levine, and the Miami Herald's aricle, "First Ever Give Miami Day is Wednesday ."

Friday, December 7, 2012

Caring and Sharing with Myrian Crissien

Catalyst Miami is uniquely defined by five intrinsic values: leadership, collaboration, innovation, self-empowerment, and compassion. Combined, these values tell the compelling story of how individuals connect to our organization and thrive to make a collective impact in their communities. Enjoy staff member Gina Ha's beautiful original paintings and story as they unfold over five days leading up to Give Miami Day December 12. Follow our journey of five noteworthy Catalyst Champions who embody these values

The journey starts with leadership; the ability and willingness to dream with an internal compass (read more)...

Collaboration makes the feat possible, incorporating various gifts from others: passion that fuels, ideas that then radiate (read more)...

Innovation is the unique product of collaboration and the vehicle that drives ideas into reality and stretches realms of possibility (read more)…

Self-empowerment is discovered along the journey at that very moment when the fuel is low and sky is turbulent and that inner push is all that is needed to get through it all to the rainbow in the sky (read more)...

Ask anyone in Homestead where to go if you have a problem, and chances are they’ll refer you to Myrian Crissien. Running Catalyst Miami’s Homestead satellite office for the past 12 years, Myrian has the connections needed to solve almost any problem – whether that problem is with health care, immigration, or economic survival.

Officially, Myrian implements Catalyst’s Prosperity Campaign in Homestead. She provides assistance with tax preparation and immigration paperwork, and enrolls clients for health benefits. She follows up too. When a desperate mother came in, saying she had been denied health benefits for her three children, Myrian called the appropriate agency and discovered an error in the mother’s file that was quickly corrected.

But Myrian doesn’t stop there. She offers classes for the community on topics from financial literacy to civic leadership to breast cancer awareness. When she realized that many of her clients had trouble filling out forms because they could not read, she began to offer literacy classes after hours. She keeps learning too, researching a recent shift in immigration policy so she can help the young people now flooding her office, asking for help to register for a new deferred action program.

Myrian Crissien is a Catalyst Champion. Would you consider being a champion as well? Donate to Catalyst Miami on Give Miami Day on December 12th and be part of our local movement to connect for good.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Engage and Empower with Maisah Williams

The journey starts with leadership; the ability and willingness to dream with an internal compass (read more)...

Collaboration makes the feat possible, incorporating various gifts from others: passion that fuels, ideas that then radiate (read more)...

Innovation is the unique product of collaboration and the vehicle that drives ideas into reality and stretches realms of possibility (read more)…

Maisah Williams was just 20 years old when she first connected to Catalyst Miami through Public Allies, an AmeriCorps program that identifies talented, idealistic young adults and helps them build the leadership skills to transform ambitions into careers. Soon she was inspiring dozens of Overtown and Liberty City residents to improve their communities through initiatives to address poor street lighting and other issues.

Today Maisah is a Catalyst Miami staff member focusing on Catalyst’s Prosperity Campaign, where her responsibilities include working with IRS contacts who train Catalyst staff to provide free tax preparation services. In one case, the team helped a single mother apply for the tax credit she had missed out on for several years—leading to a $15,000 refund from the IRS.

Maisah also often connects with contacts at Miami’s Marriott Hotel, where Catalyst offers financial coaching services for hotel staff—such as the young receptionist who learned she was eligible for not only financial aid to go back to school, but transportation services to get her there. Maisah also connects with bankers, which has co-hosted Prosperity Campaign financial literacy workshops that help residents facing serious difficulties to gain new financial self-sufficiency.

When you connect to Catalyst Miami, you help Maisah make the connections that help our neighbors prosper and our community flourish.

Maisah Williams is a Catalyst Champion. Would you consider being a champion as well? Donate to Catalyst Miami on Give Miami Day on December 12th and be part of our local movement to connect for good.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Create Innovation with Caitlin McLaren

Caitlin MacLaren is an innovative trailblazer who re-envisioned visual storytelling and community connections in a way that propelled the mission and vision of Catalyst Miami during her year of service as a Public Ally. Caitlin explains how her experience as a member of Catalyst Miami enhanced her knowledge of Miami and ignited an unwavering interest in telling other people’s stories.

The journey starts with leadership; the ability and willingness to dream with an internal compass (read more)...

Collaboration makes the feat possible, incorporating various gifts from others: passion that fuels, ideas that then radiate (read more)...

Innovation is the unique product of collaboration and the vehicle that drives ideas into reality and stretches realms of possibility.

As a magnet school student from first to 12th grade, I was always in classes with people from across Miami-Dade County. But at the end of the school day we all went back to our respective neighborhoods, and when I graduated high school I felt I knew little about the city I grew up in.

Looking to learn more about my community, I began volunteering at Catalyst Miami (then known as the Human Services Coalition), and eventually I became an AmeriCorps Public Ally placed at Catalyst.

As a part of the civic life and communications team, I worked on telling the story of the organization and the incredible people in our community who were actively making Miami a better place. The goal was to celebrate the work that was already being done and to inspire others to get involved.

I was given a lot of freedom to explore different mediums for telling these stories, through blog posts, videos, and even podcasts. My friend and co-worker Cal and I made many videos together during our year in Public Allies. Some of them were silly, some were heartfelt; we once wrote a rap about healthcare reform. We experimented with stop motion and audio slideshows. My favorite thing we produced by far was a podcast about a participant in the Parent Leadership Training Institute, Carmen, who had started a soccer league for children with special needs like her son Devon, who is on the autism spectrum.

Having this be an audio-only piece lets you really engage with the sounds of kids running through a park in West Kendall and makes you hear the love in Carmen’s voice when she talks to Devon. And the best part is when Devon makes a goal and yells, “I did it! Me!” Hearing Devon’s cheers, it’s hard not to feel a little of his giddiness.

Being able to spend hours each week listening to people from across Miami tell their stories was a great privilege for me, and I really wanted other people to hear their stories the way I did. In addition to being a lot of fun, trying out all sorts of storytelling techniques was critical to my job of engaging people in the work we were doing. I think the material Cal and I produced that year reflects the organization and where we value innovation. We’re a little bit quirky, and we always “keep it Catalyst”.

Caitlin MacLaren is a Catalyst Champion. Would you consider being a champion as well? Commit now to support Catalyst Miami on Give Miami Day December 12th and join our local movement to connect for good.

Our Stories:

Light the Leadership Path with Ed Soto, Collaborate Across Ages with Woody Pagan, Create Innovation with Caitlin McLaren, Engage and Empower with Maisah Williams, Caring and Sharing with Myrian Crissien

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Collaborate Across Ages with Woodie Pagan

We continue the story of our core values with today's focus on Woodie Pagan, a Miami ReServist who made an indelible impression at the Alliance for Aging.

The journey starts with leadership; the ability and willingness to dream with an internal compass (read more)...

Collaboration makes the feat possible, incorporating various gifts from others: passion that fuels, ideas that then radiate, efforts that connect and bind, and a strong base of support that upholds.

The workshop on Tuesday in Little Havana was to train 15 elders in safe-walking behaviors. All arrangements had been made and materials prepared: 15 Certificates of Completion were printed for each “older graduate” and 15 Safety Kits assembled for each as a graduation gift. The room was set up, attendance sheet ready, curriculum module loaded on the laptop, a new light bulb in the projector -- and all systems a “go.”

The trainer for the workshop called my cell phone the night before the Little Havana event. “Hi. Guess how many participants are coming to the workshop tomorrow?” he asked. “Oh, the 15 we planned for,” I responded. “Nope,” he continued; “there will be more than 300 elders at the workshop in the Little Havana Activity & Nutrition Center!”

I gasped, caught my breath and said, “Woodie, do you want to do this?” He quickly responded, “Yes.”

I asked him, “Can you do this?” He replied a simple, “Yeah, sure, no problem.”

That, in essence, is Woodie Pagan, lawyer, ex-New York Traffic Court Judge, ex-high school football coach, college baseball and football player, HUD developer -- and now, in his encore career through ReServe, a Project Specialist for the Alliance for Aging. There is nothing too big or too small for this exceptional person to tackle when he commits and believes in what he is doing.

Woodie is proving to be an invaluable employee who has embraced the opportunity to make our diverse elders throughout Miami-Dade County safer. His inimitable and friendly style makes everyone around him feel at ease, and his approachability transfers into the community as he trains hundreds of older people how to be more careful about walking on the streets of Miami. His experience base includes years of diplomacy, a teaching background, practical understanding of non-profit operation and programs, and a keen legal mind. More importantly, though, this Reservist exemplifies how the “right fit” between a person and a job – no matter at what stage of life -- can revitalize and invigorate both.

Woodie Pagan is a Catalyst Champion. Would you consider being a champion as well? Commit now to support Catalyst Miami on Give Miami Day December 12th and join our local movement to connect for good.

Officially launched on October 13, 2011, ReServe Miami connects the county’s nonprofits and public institutions (Partners) to experienced professionals 55+ (“ReServists”) who want to give back to their communities. By connecting these nonprofits to experienced professionals, ReServe Miami is helping its Partners build a stronger and more vibrant Miami. Woodie Pagan, a ReServist with the Alliance for Aging, will always be remembered for the impact he made in at his host organization and in the community. Contributing author, Islara B. Souto, Director of Planning and Special Projects with the Alliance for Aging.

Our Stories:

Monday, December 3, 2012

Decisions, decisions: how will FL handle healthcare reform?

After the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act, the country reelected Obama and voters in Florida rejected a constitutional amendment to block implementation of the individual mandate—a key element in healthcare reform—it seems it is time for Gov. Scott to accept that our state will indeed have “Obamacare.”

But of course, Scott and the state legislature put us in the worst possible place to adopt the new legislation by rejecting federal money and delaying implementation for the past two and a half years. Florida now needs to decide whether to create an exchange or allow the federal government to do it for us. On Thursday, Florida advocates for healthcare sent this letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with recommendations for how the state exchange should be operated. Sign the letter here.

Florida also has the option to opt out of Medicaid expansion, which would add 1.6 million people to the program. It would be penny wise and pound foolish to not accept the federal subsidy to expand Medicaid in Florida. Studies show that the state cost of expansion with special subsidy would be $556 per patient per year versus $946 per year cost if we do nothing.

Light the Leadership Path with Ed Soto

The journey starts with leadership; the ability and willingness to dream with an internal compass that points to the sky. The destination is ambitious, the journey quite cloudy, and the method of locomotion not yet determined.

As the son of a father who worked for Eastern Airlines, Edward “Ed” Soto spent many of his childhood years shuttling between Miami and New York. But when he became a teenager, he told his parents he wanted to stay in Miami for good. “It was much smaller then, of course,” he recalls. “But Miami still has that appealing, open quality that made me want to live here.”

So, after receiving a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University and his law degree from Columbia University, Soto made Miami his home—and the home base of his distinguished career as an attorney. The senior trial partner and head of the litigation department in the Miami office of Weil, Gotshal & MangesLLP, Soto has effectively represented an array of powerhouse clients in complex, high-stakes cases for more than three decades.

Active over the years in many public service organizations in the Miami area, Soto first met Catalyst Miami CEO and President Daniella Levine when he reached out to fellow Columbia law graduates in the Miami area. “I was fascinated by her amazing dedication to using her time and talents to give back to our community,” he recalls. “So I asked how I could help.”

Through his volunteer efforts with Catalyst, Soto says, “I’ve become involved not only with Catalyst programs such as the Prosperity Campaign, but with community organizations such as Roots in the City, Camillus House, and Casa Valentina. Catalyst gave me a new perspective on Miami.”

Soto was particularly intrigued by Catalyst’s work with Public Allies, an AmeriCorps program that helps young people build professional and advocacy skills through nonprofit internships. Two of his own four sons completed yearlong Public Allies internships, and their experiences have inspired their brothers, in turn, to get involved in the public sector.

“Community is a social contract: a series of ideas that we believe benefit the whole,” Soto continues. “Part of that means looking at how, as a community, we can serve each other’s needs.” Toward that end, Soto considers Catalyst’s approach to building community through a multifaceted commitment to direct service, civic engagement, and assistance to fellow community groups uniquely powerful.

So when someone asks Soto why, among hundreds of community organizations, they should support Catalyst, he has a ready answer: “There may be hundreds of rock groups, but there’s only one Beatles.”

Ed Soto is a Catalyst Champion. Would you consider becoming a champion as well? Commit now to support Catalyst Miami on Give Miami Day December 12th and join our local movement to connect for good.

Our Stories: