Be Strong International wasn’t going to let the COVID-19 pandemic place any further burden on parents who may be struggling financially. As a result, BSI’s first-ever Holiday Toy Drive is new initiative that delighted parents and children by providing wrapped gifts and a jolly, dancing Santa Claus at the South Point Crossing Apartments in Florida City, Florida, this past Friday.

“It felt so good to see my son receive gifts today,” said Luz Valentine, a resident at South Point Crossing Apartments. “He was excited to see Santa and how Be Strong International had turned the community center into the North Pole!”

More than 200 needy children between the ages of 3-13 received presents during BSI’s Holiday Toy Drive on December 11th from 2 to 4 p.m. Gift items included books, interactive games, sports equipment, arts and crafts kits, journal sets, play food and kitchen sets, science kits, bath products, action figures, toy trucks and cars, stuffed animals, and gift cards.

“It was an absolute honor to be a part of such an amazing event. At times, the children moved me to tears,” said Jesus Diaz-Aquino, a BSI staff member who dressed up as Santa for the event. “We truly don’t know who and how we impact our community. God is using us all to carry out his mission! I can confidently say that I had the most fun at the event!”

Santa could be seen having a merry time, taking pictures with children and their wrapped gifts at a socially safe distance, and directing them to a booth close by where they could receive milk and cookies as well as other goodies provided by Be Strong’s sponsors and partners.

Sponsors and partners that made the toy drive possible include the Honorable Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez, District 9 Commissioner Kionne McGhee, District 9 School Board member Luisa Santos, TD BANK, Florida Blue, Texas Roadhouse, Be the Light Ari Arteaga Foundation, The Manuel Real Estate Team, Five Below, and Pro Insurance Consultants.

“Our number one priority is to give back because we are very much a part of this community, and we care,” said Roberto Alonso, a representative at BlueCross Blue Shield. “Extraordinary times call for extraordinary service.”

During these challenging times, BSI has offered the gift of giving and service when the community needed it the most, including a school supply drive in August and a Thanksgiving food drive in November.
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Miami, FL – Over 200 underserved children between the ages of 3-13 will now be able to unwrap toys on Christmas morning thanks to the Be Strong International (BSI) Holiday Toy Drive on December 11th in Florida City.

With the help of sponsors and volunteers, BSI will distribute toys to children two weeks before the Christmas holiday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the South Point Crossing Apartments in Florida City, which is the southern-most municipality in the South Florida metro area. Toys and gift items will be comprised of a variety of age-appropriate options, including books, interactive games, puzzles, building sets, electronic games, crayons and coloring books, sports equipment, arts and crafts kits, journal sets, play food and kitchen sets, doll house toys, science kits, train sets, bath products, action figures, toy trucks and cars, stuffed animals, and gift cards.

“The Holiday Toy Drive, which is our first, allows us to spread holiday cheer this season,” said Michelle Shirley, Executive Director of BSI. “This has been a challenging year, particularly for the youngest among us, and if we can put a smile on even one child’s face and make their holiday special, we know we made a difference.”
     
Sponsors that made the toy drive possible include The Honorable Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez, TD BANK, Florida Blue, Be the Light Ari Arteaga Foundation, Keller Williams, Five Below, and Pro Insurance Consultants.
     
“We want to do what we can to brighten the holiday season for needy children. With nearly one in eight families not having enough to eat, it can be challenging to put gifts under the Christmas tree,” said Danielle Dubuc Wightman, Community Outreach Specialist at BSI.
      
Interested corporations, non-profit organizations, or individuals who are interested in providing financial support, gift cards, and/or toy donations can contact Danielle Dubuc Wightman, Community Outreach Specialist, at danielle@bestrongintl.org.
       
​For more information, visit BSI’s website at www.bestrongintl.org/events. For inquiries or to arrange an interview, contact Kristina Ugalde at kristina@bestrongintl.org.

Miami, FL –Just in time for the most self-reflective time of the year, Be Strong International (BSI) has created its first-ever journal as a personal development resource. The “Be Strong Lifestyle Journal,” which is now available for purchase online (ISBN: 9781941716052, paperback, full color, 422 pages), is meant to trigger the user’s thoughts in ways that confront their brokenness and seeks to deliver them to closer to wholeness by guiding the user to reflect upon and identify what situation, person, or group caused their suffering, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are excited to see the concept of the “Be Strong Lifestyle Journal” come to fruition. It has truly been a dream come true,” said Michelle Shirley, CEO at BSI. “We hope that the journal transforms the lives of the people who use it by inspiring and helping them to set personal, achievable goals that tackle their brokenness and sets them on the right track to wholeness.”
   
The “Be Strong Lifestyle Journal” utilizes inspirational quotes, integral explanations, recurrent questions and weekly, daily, and monthly challenges with the objective of transforming the user into wholeness. Users are also encouraged to identify accountability partners, or a person or group of people to keep them on track and honest about themselves as they tackle their truth.  Users must observe their thoughts, feelings and behavior, and then write about or even draw them. From time to time, the user can review what they jotted down and use it to gauge their personal development and growth throughout all of 2021.
   
A 2011 MIT study underscored the positive impact journaling had on adolescents who struggled with test-tasking anxiety. “One of the best features of this journal is that there are no correct or incorrect responses or ways to express yourself,” continued Shirley.
“The goal and primary objective of the journal is to bring about a better, stronger version of you,” she added. “You can then use your newfound wisdom and strength to develop and maintain healthy relationships.”
    
The Be Strong Lifestyle Journal can be purchased on Amazon Books and Barnes and Noble, just in time for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It is the first in a line of transformative journals by BSI meant to confront brokenness in a holistic manner that helps users develop and sustain healthy relationships with themselves and others.
     
​For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Kristina Ugalde at kristina@bestrongintl.org.

 Miami, FL – Courtesy of special Be Strong International (BSI) donors and partners, hundreds of needy families were provided free boxes of food that included gift cards to purchase a fresh turkey or ham along with a variety of canned goods and other food items.

In doing its part to support those who may be suffering food shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic, BSI hosted its first-ever Thanksgiving food distribution on Friday, November 20, 2020, from 10 a.m. to noon at Palmetto Bay Village Hall. Volunteers greeted guests wearing masks with a warmth that could only be matched by the 82-degree weather as they packed their cars with much-needed Thanksgiving supplies.

“It is so important to us at Be Strong International to provide families that may be hungry with the food they need to nourish themselves, particularly during these difficult and challenging times,” said Danielle Dubuc Wightman, Outreach Liaison at BSI. “We cannot expect families to focus on bettering themselves mentally, emotionally, and spiritually if they don’t have their basic needs met.”
       
By the end of the event, BSI staff and volunteers gave out all 500 food boxes along with cotton face masks and family-friendly board games. Partners and sponsors who provided the supplies included Walmart, Florida Blue, TD Bank, Publix, Farm Share, The Village of Palmetto Bay, Be the Light Ari Arteaga Foundation, AIE Charter School, Meraki Wellness Healing, Salt Life Today Church, and Florida International University Alpha Phi Sigma National Honors Society.
     
“It’s a very humbling opportunity to give back to the community that we work and live in,” said Emily Arcia, Vice President of TD Bank. “It is an honor for the employees of TD Bank to collect money so that a family in need will use our donation to purchase a turkey and other food items.”

The Thanksgiving Drive-Thru Food Distribution comes on the heels of a Back-to-School Supply Distribution event hosted by BSI back in September. Like that event, local families could register online and get supplies for free. All BSI programs are conveniently offered online during the pandemic, and there is no cost to youth and parents to register.  

​For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Kristina Ugalde at kristina@bestrongintl.org.

Miami, FL – South Dade youth will benefit from a $10,000 award to Be Strong International (BSI) from the Community Recovery Fund at The Miami Foundation.
The funds from this award will directly benefit needy and low-income children by allowing BSI to invest in the expansion of imperative programs and services that serve local youth through improved organizational capacity and reach.

“This generous grant helps us to meet the needs of children and teens,” said Michelle Shirley, Executive Director of BSI. “The programs that will be expanded thanks to this award will be better equipped to address existing organizational gaps and will allow us to serve the youngest and most vulnerable members of our community."

BSI plans to immediately advance their work and implement programs with the goal of seeing its positive impacts and benefits no later than February 2021. In accordance with The Miami Foundation's guidelines, BSI will evaluate the impact of their programs and will document and report on effective strategies by March 15, 2021.

Miami, FL – Be Strong International (BSI) has added two innovative new programs to its offering, including the latest that seeks to re-engage broken relationships in the community caused by social justice concerns over the last several years.

The Children’s Trust has awarded the Innovation Grant to BSI for its new Be Strong at the Table (BSATT) program. Beginning in 2021, the year-long program will feature two dinners in each of the five regions within Miami-Dade County. The dinner participants will include a mix of local families, youth and community leaders from different racial, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds to address the issue of social injustice, all while dining together.

“The best part about this is that it is practical, and it has never been done in Miami,” said Juan Camargo, Special Projects and Outreach Liaison. “The secret of its success is that it leads to building meaningful relationships between groups of people who may never have interacted in a close setting.”

The dinners offer an opportunity for the participants to develop empathy and a drive to action. After the dinner, the challenge for the diners is to invite someone of another culture or religion to their home to likewise share a meal in order to develop further discourse and perhaps a personal relationship. This project will culminate in a documentary to be premiered for the community.

BSI has also been awarded a grant for its new “Marriage Matters” program. Last month, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it is awarding a grant of $749,000 to the organization. Congresswoman Donna Shalala (FL-27) issued the following statement after its award:

“Be Strong International has worked tirelessly to install positive youth development practices and social-emotional learning to equip young people with the tools they need to make better decisions about relationships, money, work, and family life. I am pleased they are being recognized and receiving funding to continue the important work they do in our community.”

Participants for these free programs will be selected from both a registration and selection process. BSATT is limited to 50 participants during the first year, and Marriage Matters seeks 80 local couples.

More details will be announced on the website and social media in the coming weeks.

Miami, FL – Be Strong International was honored with a proclamation from the Village of Palmetto Bay on Tuesday after providing school supplies and other household items to needy families during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused a loss of job and income nationwide.

Mayor of Village of Palmetto Bay, Karyn Cunningham, presented Be Strong with an official proclamation on September 14, 2020, for its school supply and food drive-thru distribution last month.  With help from local and state government officials, the Children’s Trust, and the Miami Dolphins, Be Strong staff personally packed and provided food boxes alongside supply-filled bookbags to more than 200 families on August 14th.

The “Be Strong Day Back-to-School Drive-Thru Distribution” was the first school supply distribution in the Palmetto Bay area, as well as for the 25-year-old organization itself. Traditionally BSI hosts “Be Strong Day”  as an annual outdoor recreational event, but this year, the pandemic shifted those plans and local families’ lives, especially as students were heading back to school.

“Given the circumstances,” said BSI Executive Director Michelle Shirley, “Be Strong Day became an opportunity to support the community in a most necessary way: helping youth and parents directly.”

The proclamation ceremony, which began at 6:30, was hosted virtually and included citizens of Palmetto Bay along with council members. Mayor Cunningham has expressed her commitment to supporting such efforts. She said, “We are pleased to be part of this back-to-school event and will continue to support Be Strong in helping families in every way we can during this time.”

Be Strong will host its next community distribution on Friday, November 20th, from 10 a.m. to noon, at which time they will be giving out food boxes for Thanksgiving. Details will be announced on the organization’s website www.bestrongintl.org and social media as the date approaches.

Miami, FL – Randa Porter, whose son Kai Jones attends Richmond Middle School, was among the line of parents who attended the Be Strong Day Back-to-School Drive-Thru Distribution event on Friday, picking up donated school supplies for the upcoming school year.

“I just would like to thank Be Strong International and the Village of Palmetto Bay for this event,” Porter told volunteers. “Although it's the pandemic, it's a positive thing, and it really helps out the kids before they go back to school. Thank you!"

Be Strong International (BSI), joined by the City of Palmetto Bay, distributed school supplies and food at the Palmetto Bay Village Hall to needy families on Friday, August 21, 2020. By the end of the event, all 250 bookbags filled with supplies were successfully given to families, along with over 200 food boxes.

Veronica Brown, another parent, also shared how much she appreciated the assistance with supplies for her children. "Listen, this is a great thing that you guys are doing. This is amazing!" she said.

Aiding in the distribution were several community leaders: Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava; President of The Children’s Trust James R. Haj; State Representative Vance Aloupis; Mayor Karyn Cunningham; members of the Rotary Club of Perrine-Cutler Ridge/Palmetto Bay; Andrea Tovar; the Miami Dolphins; and BSI board member Franccesca Cesti-Browne. They all greeted families and packed their cars with supplies in the 91-degree weather.

“We are proud to have you as a part of our village family. Thank you for all you do,” said Mayor Karyn Cunningham of the Village of Palmetto Bay.

Although Be Strong Day is traditionally a yearly outdoor recreational event for youth, this year due to COVID-19 pandemic, it took shape in the form of a school supply drive-thru distribution event. Parents from Palmetto Bay and surrounding areas were able to register on Eventbrite to secure bookbags for their children. The bookbags contained supplies including notebooks, stationery, paper, binders, and face masks.

After receiving the bookbags in their vehicle’s trunk, parents would then drive forward to the food distribution station, where community leaders and BSI staff deposited the food boxes alongside the bookbags. Families who were not able to receive a bookbag, received a $10 gift card per child to use for school supplies. Not one book bag or food box remained by the end of the event.

All supplies and food distributed were donated by Be Strong Day co-sponsors: TD Bank, American Black, PepsiCo, The Children's Trust, VOSS, the Rotary Club of Perrine-Cutler Ridge/Palmetto Bay, Miami Children's Health Plan, Fairlife, Five Below, Palmetto Bay Dentistry, American Black, South Motors, and Miami Dolphins Football Unites.

Be Strong will host its next community distribution on November 20th, at which time they will be giving out food to be eaten for Thanksgiving. The location is still tentative, but all the details will be posted on the organization’s website www.bestrongintl.org as the date approaches.



About Be Strong International
Be Strong International is a leading non-profit that educates young people and parents through positive practices. For more than a quarter-century, they have provided teens and young adults in South Florida with tools to make better decisions about relationships, money, work, and family life.​ The organization uses an evidence-based curriculum to teach adolescents and parents about strategies for building healthy relationships. Be Strong International was nominated for best practices in addressing risky behaviors, and they deliver educational programming to students and parents online, and in-person throughout Miami-Dade and Broward County.

Miami, FL – Be Strong International (“BSI,”) received a charitable contribution of $10,000 from partner CenterState Bank to help further the nonprofit's mission on Friday, July 17th, 2020.

Lisa Greer, FVP of CenterState Bank, and also serves on BSI’s Board of Directors as Vice President, was among the group of CenterState Bank representatives, consisting also of David Pruna, Community President, Miami Dade/Monroe Counties, Willie Carpenter, Senior VP Market Manager, and Charles Keys, VP Community Reinvestment, who delivered the donation to BSI. “We are honored to partner with Be Strong International and support the company’s efforts in the community,” said Charles W. Keys after presenting the check for $10,000 to BSI’s Executive Director, Michelle Shirley.

BSI recently received a donation of 250 PPE masks from CenterState Bank for distribution at one of BSI’s food drives taking place at Cutler Manor Apartments, a residential area for which BSI also provides their after-school program, the Be Strong Club. “Support from our partners such as CenterState Bank is vital during these times when we are making changes to meet the needs of our community; one of the changes is making our programs available online due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Michelle Shirley, Executive Director of BSI. “CenterState Bank’s contribution of $10,000 helps us expand and continue our programming during these times. We are beyond grateful!”

​Be Strong International has partnered with over 19 schools and served more than 6,400 youth in 2019 alone. Their parent program functions fully online until further notice, and they are working to provide online programming for youth in the coming school year. CenterState Bank’s donation will help Be Strong International serve youth and parents throughout Miami-Dade and Broward County during the pandemic and after.

About Be Strong International
Be Strong International is a leading non-profit that educates young people and parents through positive practices. For more than a quarter-century, they have provided teens and young adults in South Florida with tools to make better decisions about relationships, money, work, and family life.​ The organization uses an evidence-based curriculum to teach adolescents and parents about strategies for building healthy relationships. Be Strong International was nominated for best practices in addressing risky behaviors, and they deliver educational programming to students and parents online, and in-person throughout Miami-Dade and Broward County.

About CenterState Bank
CenterState Bank Corporation operates as one of the largest community bank franchises headquartered in the state of Florida. The Company and its nationally chartered bank subsidiary, CenterState Bank, N.A., are based in Winter Haven, Florida, between Orlando and Tampa. Its mission is “regional in scope but laser-focused on the communities we serve to guide your financial journey so you can achieve your dreams. We look to earn your trust, each day and with every transaction.”

Palmetto Bay, FL - April 7, 2020 - The Ocean Reef Community Foundation has provided Be Strong International a grant of $10,000 to support their Universal “Triple P” Parenting workshops for Homestead and Florida city families. The OCRF accumulated more than $1.4 million during their 2020 All Charities effort, which is partly designed to fund their Community Grants Program, and last week they announced the recipients of their grants.
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Be Strong International received the grant to grow its Universal Parenting Program in Homestead and Florida City. The aim of this program is to provide workshops to all parents of children up to the age of 16. These 90-minute workshops are designed to help parents and caregivers raise confident, competent, responsible, and resilient children. All BSI facilitators teaching the workshops are certified by the Triple P (Positive Parenting Program), a world-renowned parenting program developed by the University of Queensland, to teach their curriculum. BSI will use a portion of the grant to provide parents with meals, incentives, and childcare during their workshops. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Be Strong International is hosting parent workshops via Zoom. For information on the dates and times of these workshops, please visit the events page on their website. 

Thanks to its annual grant program, Ocean Reef Community Foundation enables many non-profits to develop their programs further. With this added support, Be Strong International, utilizing its excellent parenting program and staff, will provide parents in Homestead and Florida City essential skills that will foster a greater parent-child relationship.
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About Be Strong International
Be Strong International is a non-profit organization, begun in 1992, that focuses on educating young people and parents through positive practices. The organization uses evidence-based curricula that provides teens and families in South Florida with tools to make better decisions about relationships, money, work, and family life. Be Strong International was nominated for best practices in addressing risky behaviors, and they deliver educational programming to students and parents within Miami-Dade and Broward County.

Palmetto Bay, FL - November 22, 2019 - On November 14th, 2019, the Broward Sheriff’s Office distributed money from the Law Enforcement Trust Funds (LETF) to local nonprofits. Be Strong International, a recipient of this award, plans to utilize the funds to grow its healthy relationship workshops in Broward County Public Schools, aiming to educate more than 200 kids in grades 6 through 12.  In response to the presence of juvenile crimes in Broward county, Be Strong International set objectives that align with those of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office to cultivate the communities within Broward by addressing the various issues education can remedy. What contributes to the success of both organizations in addressing community-wide issues is the compassion they instill into their daily work. The compassion from which true words and actions arise as they did on November 14th, when the Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony gave these words: “we’re stronger together.” 

 “These non-profit community organizations have different missions,” Sheriff Gregory Tony began, “but the core of what they do remains the same – to provide vital services and improve the lives of people across Broward County.” 

In this astute statement, the sheriff underwrites the core value of the LETF which is to repurpose money that comes from the seizure and forfeiture of contraband for the mitigation of juvenile crime, primarily drug trafficking and abuse. LETF recipients are commonly organization that provide programs, mentorship, and assistance to youth within Broward county. Be Strong International is one of these agents of change, and on November 14th, its CEO, Michelle Shirley, received a $9,975 award from the Broward Sheriff’s Office on behalf of the organization from Sheriff Gregory Tony.  

Shirley, leading the organization since 2012, detailed the plans for the funds, exuberantly relating the impact she anticipates the organization will be able to have in Broward thanks to this award. She summarizes, “Be Strong International will offer healthy relationship workshops in Broward County Public Schools to 200 youth in grades 6th through 12th grade.” Further on, she adds, “four of our professionally trained Be Strong facilitators will use evidence-based curricula and strategies to teach healthy relationship skills and social-emotional learning: lessons will include effective communication skills, decision-making skills, healthy relationship skills, character development skills and much more.”

Be Strong International took a moment to recount the generosity demonstrated by the Broward Sheriff’s Office on Facebook. Shirley’s post exalts the honor and privilege of receiving the award, knowing well that the award is not only a gift but also a promise between Sheriff Gregory Tony, the other nonprofit recipients, and Be Strong International to better the communities they serve. Because as our community grows, it is imperative to remember that, as Sheriff Gregory Tony stated, “we’re stronger together.”

Residents of Cutler Manor were treated to a day of activities for Be Strong Day.

Children got a chance to win prizes, get their faces painted, and learn about safety from Miami-Dade County Police and the Miami-Dade County Fire Department. 

“Serving the community is our No. 1 priority,” says Be Strong International Executive Director Michelle Shirley.   

Be Strong International is a year round non-profit organization that focuses on educating young people through positive youth development practices. In its 27th year, the organization uses an evidence-based curriculum to teach adolescents about healthy relationships, financial literacy, and educational and career success. Be Strong serves more than 3,400 students within Miami-Dade and Broward County public schools each year.

Be Strong partnered with Nike and Nicholas Children’s Hospital for games and give-a-ways, Texas Roadhouse Restaurant for food and Voss Water for drinks. Other partners included The Children’s Trust, Guardian Ad Litem, Help Me Grow Florida, Play Station, Simply Healthcare, Miami Children’s Health Plan, JSC, and Poah Communities.  

Shirley went on to say, “We will continue to pour out our love and offer our best resources to the residents of Cutler Manor and the surrounding community. We are delighted to have worked in partnership with other partners to help make this event a huge success. After all, it’s about thriving families and stronger communities!”

Be Strong has served over 200,000 youth and parents. It offers sexual risk avoidance workshops to youth and “Ready to Talk” workshops to parents that encourages them to talk early and often to their adolescents about delaying sexual activity.
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Be Strong International is committed to helping to equip parents with tactical skills. Across Miami-Dade County throughout the month of August parents can locate a workshop to attend to learn practical skills to help in rearing their children. For more information, visit www.bestrongintl.org/events.html