Public Allies' Presentations of Learning

By: Bianca Mijares, Catalyst Miami Intern
Cheryl Mizell, Communications Director

Yesterday June 16^th 2011 was the first of two days of Presentations of Learning put on by the Public Allies to illustrate what their experiences with the program have been in the past 10 months. Eleven Public Allies presented. Their presentations ranged from performance pieces to singing to dancing. All were extremely moving and insightful.

Laselve Harrison, Communications Coordinator with Catalyst Miami, launched the day by presenting his Public Ally learning experience through the template of the Voice, the e-newsletter, drawing parallels to the organization’s values while highlighting a transformative path to finding his own voice. Anne-Valerie Pierre-Canel gave a stellar performance worthy of an Oscar by spotlighting her star experiences and allies in best supporting roles in award winning films. Autumn Romer from Take in Stock Children, a scholarship program that pairs children with a mentor and an advocate and gives them the opportunity to receive a scholarship for college upon completing a set of requirements, did a performance piece about her personal transformation, growth, and discovery. She is a Leader! Jalyssa Whitaker spoke emotionally about her professional and personal growth and later expressed the same feelings through a choreographed dance to “Pieces of Me” by Ledisi. Diana Pena Rojas wrote a letter to her fellow allies detailing the struggles of her troubled life and everything the program has done for her. Then she had everyone plant their very own peanut plant.

All of the allies who presented spoke about one or more of these things: adapting difficult sometimes chaotic situations, realizing you are a leader, learning from experiences no matter the outcome, redefining success, and finding happiness. The event was inspiring and provided an opportunity to spotlight these wonderful people and to reflect on oneself and on the value of service.

Catalyst Miami's 11th Annual Theater Event

 

Catalyst Miami presents the 11th Annual Theater Event featuring "Masked"

" Masked" is an explosive Israeli play about three Palestinian brothers locked in a life-and-death struggle over deception and betrayal.

Join Catalyst Miami as we honor John Anzivino, a philanthropic leader, co-founder of Planned Giving Council, former board member of Dade Community Foundation, and adviser to numerous organizations and causes.

Cocktail reception will follow the show

Tickets are available at www.hscdade.org or by calling (305) 576-5001

We hope to see you there!

ANN KIMBLE: Catalyst Miami Champion for People Living with Disabilities

By Bianca Mijares

Ann Kimble has been a volunteer at Catalyst Miami since 2000. She found out about Catalyst Miami, then known as the Human Services Coalition, through an event flyer forwarded to her by the Center for Independent Living. At the event, Ann discovered that Catalyst Miami was looking for volunteers, so she signed up, and from there a wonderful symbiotic relationship bloomed. She served as a “secret shopper” for them, making sure that people living with disabilities were not victims of housing discrimination. Ann also attended the Catalyst Miami Parent Leadership Training Institute. There she participated in sessions on how to speak to politicians about personal and community issues and writing grant proposals. The information she gathered at these trainings would later serve to help her start her own non-profit organization, Cross Disability Transportation Issues Committee (CDTIC). Through CDTIC Ann worked directly with citizens, the county, and company owners to edit the Para-transit contract and get pay raises and benefits for drivers. Ann is grateful for how Catalyst Miami has empowered her and taught her how to take initiative and make real changes in her community. She is back in Miami after living in Atlanta for five years and is excited to be able to work with Catalyst Miami again.

Ready Schools Miami Learning Showcase

During the 2010-2011 school year, five Public Allies Americorps volunteers worked with Ready Schools Miami by supporting the Community Involvement Specialists (CIS) in Title 1 Schools of Miami-Dade County. The Allies were charged with leading professional development for the CIS, planning and executing parent programming in the schools, and improving parent engagement in the school system. In each region, parent engagement increased from FCAT pep rallies to parent focus groups that encouraged parents to begin service projects in their communities geared towards developing healthy schools and strong communities. An example of a project that was executed is a parent newsletter that demystifies specific acronyms used in the school system, which parents recognized as something that prohibited them from being more engaged in their child’s school.

The year culminated with a day meant to celebrate the successes of CIS, teachers, administrators and educators alike at the Ready Schools Miami Learning Showcase on May 21^st, 2011 at Miami Beach Senior High. Educators from across Miami-Dade County came together to share best practices, and the CIS that were supported by Allies in each region presented parent engagement techniques to the whole district.

Catalyst Miami looks forward to a second semester and future years to continue to serve as an agent for positive parent involvement in the schools, as an important strategy in larger efforts to improve student outcomes.

Listen in on a Podcast for highlights of the event. 

Prosperity Campaign Celebrates Successful Tax Season

From January to April of this year, just four short months, the Prosperity Campaign served 6,180 people and had a total refund amount of over 5 million dollars, which comes out to an average of over 1,600 dollars per person.  On May 10^th 2011, Catalyst Miami hosted the End of the Tax Season Celebration Luncheon to honor all the volunteers, staff and organizations that made it happen.  Daniella Levine, the President and CEO of Catalyst Miami, also announced the exciting news that the Prosperity Campaign had just received a waiver from the Federal Government to officially administer food stamps.  Representative Jose Felix Diaz gave an inspiring and humorous speech about his journey to becoming a representative and the importance of the work of the Prosperity Centers.  

Prosperity Campaign Director Frances Penha, who also spoke, called the event “spectacular” and said, “It was nice to see all the organizations come together for one cause and bring attention to the community.” Other speakers included State Representative Jose Felix Diaz, Diana Arteaga (representing Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater), and IRS Territory Manager Ron Albert. The Prosperity Campaign collaborates with the IRS, Federal Reserve, Department of Children and Families, Miami Dade College, and local businesses to assist low-income individuals and families with financial services like taxes, food stamps, and children’s healthcare. 

Take a look at our 2011 Tax Season Report Card to see the number of people served by the Prosperity Campaign. 

Click here for a list of VITA sites that will remain open until October 2011 for free tax assistance.

Like us on Facebook and see pictures of the people who made it all possible here.

A Celebration of International Labor Day: Working Together to Transform the World

Sunday, May 1, 2011
By: Carl Levine, Guest Blogger and brother of Daniella Levine

My friends and collaborators, I can think of no better way to celebrate May Day than here with you.

May Day, is celebrated in almost every country around the world as a day of international working class solidarity.  It is an official holiday in nearly 100 nations.

As you probably know, it is not an officially recognized holiday in this country.

What you may not know is that May 1st has been recognized by the federal government as both Loyalty Day and Law Day.

This shows how seriously the American ruling class takes the symbolism of May Day.  How seriously it takes the threat that international labor solidarity might succeed in transcending national chauvinism.

For the ruling elite it was not enough to refuse to recognize May Day.  Not enough to pick a date in September to celebrate a national, rather than an international labor day.

It also felt compelled, in 1921, to designate May 1st as “Americanization Day,” renamed “loyalty day” in 1958 by an act of Congress.  Loyalty Day is designated as a day for “reaffirmation of loyalty to the United States and for the recognition of the heritage of American freedom.” 

The United States, alone with Canada, celebrates labor day in September. 

The adoption of a distinct date for America’s labor day was a deliberate decision.  It was motivated by the fear of what might result if American workers discovered their unity of interest with their sisters and brothers in other countries.

Ironically, May Day has its roots in the United States.

So, I’ll begin with a bit of history:

Rally Today to Protect Democracy and the Right to Vote

URGENT ACTION

Contact Millie Herrera 305-972-4162

Show your support today, Thursday, May 19th, 2011, at 4:45 pm in front of the Miami-Dade County Elections Department, 2700 NW 87th Avenue, Doral, FL 33172 for a Rally to protest the disenfranchising elections bill HB 1355 passed by the Florida State Legislature and to urge Governor Rick Scott to veto it. This law faced strong opposition by Supervisors of Elections statewide and restricts voter registration and the voting rights of citizens:

·         The early voting period will be reduced from 14 to 6 days.

·         Women and students, or anyone else, with name or address change will be forced to vote by provisional ballot instead of the normal way of voting. Provisional ballots are rarely counted. 

·         Volunteer groups and individual volunteers helping to register people to vote will be subject to a $1,000 fine for not returnng registration cards to the elections office within 48 hours of signing including weekends, or even for inadvertant mistakes in the process. 

The Miami-Dade County Elections Department has cancelled Early Voting on Sunday, May 22, 2011, and to accomodate the voters extended early voting hours until 5 pm on Saturday, May 21, 2011. Despite their best intentions, voters who planned to vote on Sunday, i.e.; those who can only vote this Sunday because of work or travel, will not be able to exercise their right to vote. We do not know why this action was taken since the bill has not yet been signed into law by the governor. At least one candidate for Miami-Dade County mayor has filed a lawsuit to keep the polls open this Sunday.

Does Money in Politics Corrupt Absolutely

Join the Good Government Initiative for lunch and what is sure to be a fascinating Community Conversation on Wednesday, June 8th at Northern Trust Bank.

Registration will close once capacity is reached. Please feel free to forward this invitation. Click on the link below to register today!

Get more information Register Now!

If you have any questions, please contact Lourdes Lurigados at 305.689.8210 or via email info@goodgov.net. Northern Trust Bank 700 Brickell Avenue 9th Floor Miami, FL 33131 Driving Directions Wednesday June 8, 2011 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM Add to my calendar

Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1% Society

Vanity Fair

Americans have been watching protests against oppressive regimes that concentrate massive wealth in the hands of an elite few. Yet in our own democracy, 1 percent of the people take nearly a quarter of the nation’s income—an inequality even the wealthy will come to regret.

Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1% Society: vanityfair.com.

Stand up against Arizona-type racial profiling and immigration laws

Dear Friends:

I am writing to ask for your participation in and support of a week of activities to show a united community front against Arizona-type racial profiling and immigration laws in the state of Florida.

As you probably know, the Florida Legislature, in the upcoming session, will consider a number of bills that are copycats of Arizona's infamous SB 1070. At this point 8 different bills have been filed, and more are expected before Legislature convenes its annual regular session next week.

These provisions in these bills include:

• requiring the police to verify immigration status of persons during a legal stop if "reasonable suspicion" exists that they are undocumented
• requiring jails to determine the immigration status of all detainees and police to enter into 287g agreements with ICE to enforce immigration law
• prohibiting any state or local agency to limit in any way immigration law enforcement or inter-agency sharing of immigration status information, and giving any legal resident of the state the right to sue if an agency is in violation of this provision
• state sanctions, including fines and jail time, for legal immigrants who don't carry their original immigration documents in public

• making all employers use the federal E-Verify employment verification data base, with suspension of an employer's business license for knowingly hiring an undocumented person.

We have a great chance of defeating these bills. The Florida Immigrant Coalition and its member organizations have done a great job mobilizing people to hearings, and the bills have encountered significant business opposition. In other areas of the state there has been more press coverage favorable to our side than in Miami, including an in-depth series in the Naples News and an excellent editorial in today's Palm Beach Post (http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/editorials/floridas-approach-on-immigration-is-wrong-only-feds-1217194.html).

However, we cannot take anything for granted. Any of these provisions would be potentially devastating for our community if passed, especially given that no positive immigration reform is forthcoming from the federal government.

WeCount! is organizing a week of activities from Saturday, March 19 through Thursday, March 26 to educate the community about the dangers of these bills, and to show broad community opposition to these bills and support for an inclusive, diverse community. We are calling it "We Are Homestead - Somos Homestead - Nou se Homestead."

Scheduled events:

• Women's and Children's March

Saturday, March 19, 2011 at 5:00 pm

First Methodist Church (marching to Losner Park)

622 North Krome Avenue

Homestead, FL

• Cultural Night

Saturday, March 19, 2011 from 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm

Losner Park

622 North Krome Avenue

Homestead, FL

• Soccer Match

Sunday, March 20, 2011 at 2:30 pm

Soccer field located behind Homestead Middle School

Cross streets:

• Community Forum

Monday, March 21, 2011 at 7:00 pm

Everglades Village Community Center

19308 SW 380th Street

Florida City, FL

• Interfaith Service

Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 6:30 pm

First Methodist Church

622 North Krome Avenue

Homestead, FL

• 2 Movie Nights:

Monday, March 21, 2011 at 12:00 noon

Film: “Abused: The Postville Raid”

Miami Dade College – Homestead Campus

400 College Terrace

Homestead, FL

Wednesday March 23, 2011 at 7:00 pm

Film: “La Misma Luna”

We-Count! Office

201-207 North Krome Avenue

Homestead, FL

We are asking for your support for these events by helping to publicize them and encouraging people to participate. If you are interested in participating in any of the events please contact the WeCount! Organizer:

Lis-Marie Alvarado at lis-marie@we-count.org or call: 786-523-2805

Get Educated on Education: MDCPS Budget Issues

Miami Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) will have to make some "bone cutting" decisions if the state budget does not take action to find ways to keep the same funding amount for education.

Since 2007-08 school year, MDCPS’ total budget has shrunk from $6.3 billion to $4.3 billion -- a $2 billion decrease. Further reductions will affect the progress MDCPS is experiencing in building a world class educational system. The time for action is now. We are asking for you to get educated on education and the key education budget issues as our state legislature meets on the state budget.

Here are the three major issues affecting our local public education budget:

Provide level funding/replacement of federal stimulus funds

• $907 million to sunset June 30, 2011 statewide

• $121 million to sunset June 30, 2011 for Miami-Dade County Public Schools

• 2000 Miami-Dade school district jobs in jeopardy

Eliminate penalties associated with class-size reduction non-compliance

• School districts should not be penalized for non-compliance, not a constitutional requirement

Address inequity of education funding formula for urban schools

• Loss of District Cost Differential and the addition of the Compression Adjustment in the education funding formula diminishes adequate funding to urban school districts

• Miami Dade County Schools receives $118 less per student in state funds than the state average

• Miami Dade County citizens pay in $200 in taxes more on average to the state on a per student basis towards educating a child than the average taxpayer statewide

Here is what you can do:

• Get Educated on Education - click on the following link http://gafla.dadeschools.net/financialoutlook.asp to hear and see a prerecorded webinar explaining the above issues

• Email your appropriate state legislator to express your support for the "Hold Public Education Harmless" issues (see attached pdfs with legislator by school and email addresses)

MiamiFLCOC_1898_MDCPS budget-facts

MiamiFLCOC_1896_2010-11_School_List_Elected_Officials

MiamiFLCOC_1897_2011 session - Email contact list- Miami-Dade County Legislative Delegation, 2-3-11

• Forward this email to your employees, colleagues, family and friends

Thank you,

Maria C. Alonso Marilu Kernan Rafael Saldaña

Chairman Education Committee Chair Education Committee Vice-Chair

ACT Now to Save Service

Congratulations Florida!

During Save Service District Day on February 25, hundreds of Floridians participated by visiting 24 of our 25 U.S. House members' district offices and both of our U.S. Senators' district offices.

GREAT JOB!!!

Now we need your continued help. Our next big Action Step is next Tuesday, March 15th. This will be an all out effort to call every member of Congress to ask them to Save Service. See more details in the section below.

Call Congress on March 15

These are messages you can share with members of Congress! They won't know if we don't tell them!

Did you know that more than 74,000 people of all ages and backgrounds participate in Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, or Learn and Serve programs in Florida?

These participants work in hundreds of Florida schools and with more than 2,300 national and local nonprofits, faith-based organizations and other groups like Habitat for Humanity, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Clubs, Catholic Charities, Communities in Schools and Florida's State Parks.

Florida's national service participants have an even greater impact by recruiting tens of thousands of volunteers to work alongside them every year.

And, over $7 million in Florida is invested from private, foundation, or other nonfederal sources to support these federal funds because Floridians understand that these programs have real value and impact in our state.

Please forward to your friends and colleagues and let our voices be heard!

Got stories? Register today for Half in Ten's webinar on practical tips for effective storybanking

Join Half in Ten and storybanking experts for a webinar on March 14 to learn more about how to effectively use stories for advocacy. The webinar will cover the fundamentals of storybanking, what makes a good story, best practices for submitting your story to our storybank, and how to leverage stories with members of Congress and the media. Register today! http://bit.ly/fgRhMx