May 2015 Newsletter

Lots of exciting things have been taking place within Firewall and this community we serve! Our students were able to serve and give back on May 2 at our second annual SERVE-A-THON.

“I will always remember seeing the smiling faces on the children that live at Broward Children’s Center. It made me want to serve others more to see them happy,”
said Laila, Pompano Beach Middle School Center student.unnamed

 

Firewall students from Pompano Beach Middle, Blanche Ely High, and Crystal Lake Middle served at Broward Children’s Center where they landscaped, mulched, and beautified the grounds including the playground. Students had fun serving, but after receiving a tour of the facility, they realized how much they have to be thankful forrelative to the children at the Center who have extreme and fragile physical conditions.

 

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Firewall’s Indian Ridge Middle Center went to ARC Broward’s Recycling Center, where they also serve children with disabilities and other life challenges.  Our students cleaned up used monitors, took apart and separated computer parts, and sorted through large bins of technology.

 

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At Hope South Florida’s God’s Little Lambs Daycare Center, students from Plantation Middle and Bair Middle Centers planted trees and shrubs around the property and replaced old mulch in the playground area to be used for children of homeless families.

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Western High Center students served at Davie Pine Island Park, repainting the parking lots and landscaping around the office space.

 

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After the students finished serving, we all met at Davie Pine Island Park for food, fun, and dance contests! Pictured above is the Firewall staff and the Leadership Broward team that organized and facilitated Serve-A-Thon.

Serve-A-Thon 2015 was only a success because of youThank you for all your support! A special thank you to our headlining sponsor,Regent Bank.

Serve-A-Thon 2015   Serve-A-Thon 2015   Serve-A-Thon


Doyle Award for Nonprofit Excellence

We are delighted to announce that we received the Doyle Award for Nonprofit Excellence that spotlights local nonprofits and the people behind them that make South Florida a great place to live. You can read the article at Sun Sentinel.

Doyle Award for Nonprofit Excellence


 

Firewall Awards Ceremony 2015

You are invited to join us on Tuesday, May 19th at 6:00 p.m. as we celebrate the end of a successful school year! We will be having our annual awards ceremony at Calvary Plantation, featuring our host Eric Yutzy of Channel 10.

It will be an evening of raffles, special student awards, and even a time for students

to receive their gift card incentives for good performance during the school year.

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Bring a friend and come ready to see all of our Firewall students, mentors, staff, and volunteers gathered in one space! Our guest speaker, Ginger Martin of American National Bank, recently climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and will be talking to us a bit about her experience in helping to raise awareness and funds for women and children who are victims of human trafficking. You don’t want to miss this!

We look forward to seeing you at the awards ceremony and hope you have a great rest of your week!

Sincerely,

Firewall Centers 

 

At-Risk Students Complete Service Projects for Others in Need

DAVIE, Fla. (May 3rd, 2015) On Saturday, May 2nd, over 315 Firewall students, their mentors, staff, and volunteers engaged in service projects throughout Broward County as a part of the Serve-A-Thon. This annual event is intended to show all students who attend the after-school program the importance of giving back to their community.

“I used to feel that you only serve others when someone asks for it. Now I think that you need to look for service opportunities rather than having it look for you. Serve because you can, not because you have to,” said Julia Edrnest, Bair Middle School Center student.

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Firewall students from Pompano Beach Middle, Blanche Ely High, and Crystal Lake Middle cleaned up the outside landscape, disinfected the playground, and were able to tour the facility at Broward’s Children Center where they service children with extreme and fragile physical conditions.  Firewall students from the Indian Ridge Middle Center served at ARC Broward’s Recycling Center. The students cleaned up used monitors, took apart and separated computer parts, and sorted through large bins of technology. At Hope South Florida’s God’s Little Lambs day care center, Plantation Middle and Bair Middle Centers planted trees and shrubs around the property and replaced old mulch in the playground area to be used for children of homeless families. Western High Center students served at Davie Pine Island Park, repainting the parking lots and landscaping around the office space.

“I will always remember seeing the smiling faces on the children that live at Broward Children’s Center. It made me want to serve others more to see them happy,” said Laila Richardson, Pompano Beach Middle School Center student.

Amongst the students were volunteers from Regent Bank, who for the past two years have been the headlining sponsor for Serve-A-Thon. Regent Bank not only met their fundraising goal in a one month period, but surpassed it. Their support was invaluable to the success of the Serve-A-Thon.

Firewall Centers was able to provide its students with the opportunity to serve because of the Leadership Broward Foundation, who organized and facilitated the entire Serve-A-Thon event and all related service projects.

Once the service projects were complete, all the students gathered at Davie Pine Island Park for lunch, games, and dance contests.