'We have to start with something.' One 12-year-old's head start at leadership

"There's a lot to do. We can help in many ways. We have to start with something."

Twelve-year-old Joana is determined to change lives one young person at a time. She took a trip to Bolivia nearly five years ago, which sparked her interest in community service and defined her personal mission and vision to provide basic resources to children in need. Her project affectionately known as "The Creative Children of Bolivia" provides school supplies and gently used clothing to an orphanage located in a small-rural community in Bolivia.

With the support of family, friends, neighbors and her school community, Joana collects donations from classmates and friends and later sends them to children at the orphanage. "I started by going to my teacher," explained Joana, who began her project when she was in fifth grade. "I asked if I could present to the class and provide a donation box for school supplies."

Turning adversity into advocacy

Experiencing homelessness was anything but expected for Mariame Rodriguez and her family. Having recently relocated to Miami-Dade County from Connecticut to care for her mother, the toils of unforeseen circumstances left her with limited hope as she struggled to find a home in early 2006. Rodriguez, a mother of two children with serious health problems, a nurse and a caretaker, made a fearless phone call to the homeless hot-line holding onto the belief that “when one door closes another one opens.” 

Rodriguez lived in a homeless shelter with her family for six months then moved to transitional housing for a year and four months. This made a lasting impact on everyone in her family. “My kids suffered,” Rodriguez says. “They went through a lot and didn’t have trust or confidence. It created insecurity that, to this day, I’m still trying to break out of them.”

With every effort to instill positivity in her family’s life, Rodriguez searched for various community resources that could assist them during their time of transition. She and her eldest daughter attended a college fair presented by New Futuro where she received information on college access. At the fair she also made a connection to a program that reminded her of home: Catalyst Miami's Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI). She was initially attracted to PLTI because it originated in her hometown. “It originally came from Connecticut, so it sparked an interest and curiosity.” She then learned about the leadership, community service and advocacy components of the program, which appealed to her even more. She and her family decided to join.

Leadership is All in the Family at Catalyst

Written by Gina Ha, Parent Leadership Training Institute Coordinator

What is Family Leadership?

According to Indya, a lovely and bright eight-year-old leader in Catalyst's Family Leadership Training Institute, it is simply "Leadership as a family. Something that the whole family can do together because things are better when you do them as a family, like watching a movie."

Family Leadership links different generations and walks of like to the common path of self-empowerment. Parents and children grow together; strangers and acquaintances grow together, inward and upward together. And like Indya said, things are better together.

Family Leadership is not only shared between relatives but between colleagues, neighbors, childhood friends, and even strangers. A family is the coalition that will support you through good and bad times, the close-knit group of young children that inspire you and the wise adults that guide you. Every member has a unique role and sense of responsibility, and each member honors the strength of the family in big and small ways.

The Family Leadership Training Institute (FLTI) houses this type of unique connection between individuals. Our participants are parents, grandparents, single mothers and fathers, nonprofit professionals, community organizers, and young leaders from toddlers to pre-teens. Raiza, Indya's mother, joined the institute for this very reason. Raiza had participated in various workshops and programs prior to FLTI, but never found one that actually included her daughter. She is currently working on a community project, developing a program to educate families that are building lives and reconnecting after reentry. Indya is also working on a community project, a book/toy drive for Camillus House.

FLTI "has been an extraordinary experience for my 8 year old daughter and I," Raiza said. "We have really understood what leadership truly is and how it impacts our families, friends, schools and community. We have gained an awareness that has allowed us to identify our personal power to think outside the box and make things happen not only within our family, but in our community as well. " 

What is Family Leadership and What Does it Look Like?

Catalyst Miami is currently accepting applications for parents, children, and child advocates to join FLTI. Our family leadership program encompasses Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI) for adults and Children’s Leadership Training Institute (CLTI) for students in grades K-5. The next class will start February 23, 2013 and meet weekly for 20 sessions on Wednesday evenings.

Who Can Join: Parents, guardians, child advocates, working professionals, community leaders, concerned residents…anyone interested in making a difference in the lives of children!

How to Join: Complete and submit an application or contact Gina Ha  at ginah@catalystmiami.org for more information. Children attending the program with a parent/ guardian will automatically be enrolled in CLTI, a parallel leadership program that uses a multiple-intelligence-based curriculum to maximize learning.

What to Look Forward to: 20 sessions that gradually build your advocacy skills, including: Using Your Voice, How a Community Works, What is Public Policy? and How the State Works. Guest speakers about media, local and state government, and community based organizations! A unique leadership opportunity for the entire family! Free dinner and childcare!

Catalyst Miami awarded Proclamation of Honor at Miami-Dade County School Board Meeting

By: Viviana Mauri, Communications Intern

            Last Wednesday, July 13^th, 2011, marked a very special day for our nonprofit organization, Catalyst Miami. Our CEO & President Daniella Levine, the Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI) and the Children Leadership Training Institute (CLTI) programs of our Civic Life Academy were honored by Miami-Dade County's School Board Member of District 6, Raquel Regalado.

            Ms. Regalado was present at this year’s 2011 PLTI and CLTI graduations as a special guest speaker, and walked away from the event so impressed with the work of our Parent and Child Leadership and Civics education programs, that she decided to bestow this  Proclamation of Honor  upon our organization, Catalyst Miami.

            Present to receive our Proclamation of Honor with Daniella Levine were members of our staff, our School Engagement Director, Abigail Asgaralli, and our CLTI Coordinator, Lizabeth Verjano. Among the School Board members who also shared kind words of the work Catalyst Miami has completed and presented to our South Florida community were Dr. Gilbert “Tee” Holloway, Dr. Marta Perez, and Chair Ms. Perla Tabares Hantman. Also commending Catalyst Miami were Mr. Martin Karp and Dr. Larry Feldman.


             Additionally being recognized at last Wednesday's School Board meeting was the Heaven on Earth Foundation. View below pictures taken at the Proclamation of Honor School Board Meeting and click here for Raquel Regalado's official photo album of the special moment.

A PLTI Graduation

By: Bianca Mijares, Catalyst Miami Intern

The Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI)'s graduation took place this week on Tuesday evening at the Miami Beach Community Church. The Institute graduated a total of sixteen parents and eighteen children this year.

PLTI is a twenty week program for parents and children that includes a ten week course on leadership and a ten week civics program with a corresponding community project for parents. The children who participate go through a similar process as their parents with similar themes about leadership and community engagement and their ability to affect change in a kid-friendly way.

Raquel Regalado, a school board member from District 6, was the guest speaker at this year's graduation. She told a personal story of when she learned to step up to lead when she saw something she did not think is fair. She encourages others to do the same, and congratulated us on our leadership program for children alongside their parents. In fact, she will be presenting a certificate of recognition to Catalyst Miami for this program at the next School Board meeting on July 13.

Gretchen Beesing, Vice President for Civic Life at Catalyst Miami, as well as one of the facilitators for the second phase of the PLTI program, called this year's graduating class, "outstanding and passionate," and one of the "best groups that she has worked with." She shared that she was tremendously moved as she witnessed the powerful bonding of the group.