FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Feb. 13th, 2015) – Firewall Centers was awarded ‘Collective Impact for Youth’ at the Fifth Annual South Florida Community Care Network Non-Profit Academy Awards.
“We are growing and our goal is to set up Firewalls in the lives of all the at-risk kids here in Broward County, so we are just getting started,” said Andy Fernandez, Firewall Centers’ founder, at the Broward 2-1-1 Academy Awards.
Firewall Centers currently has seven locations across Broward County, two of which are funded by the Children’s Service Council (CSC) of Broward County and the Community Foundation of Broward (CFB). These Centers mentor and tutor students every day, most of which come from minority, low-income, and/or single-parent households. With the help received from these two organizations, Firewall Centers has been able to increase its impact on Broward County students.
“Anybody who knows the Children’s Services Council knows we’re all about collective impact on behalf of youth,” said Cindy Arenberg Seltzer, CSC President and CEO of Broward County.
A current initiative focused on Middle School student success in order to raise graduation rates was developed by CFB and is played out by the key services that Firewall Centers provides. The Community Foundation of Broward’s funding for the ‘School is Cool’ initiative has been matched by CSC for the past two school years and supports the Bair and Plantation Middle School Firewall Centers.
This collaborative effort has impacted the lives of over 120 students by focusing on improving their performance in the areas of school attendance, behavior, and course performance (ABC’s).
To find out more about the Community Foundation of Broward’s ‘School is Cool’ initiative, visit www.cfbroward.org.
