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.