From award nominations to community events, Firewall Centers is starting 2015 with a bang!
Firewall Centers was nominated as one of three finalists for the Children’s Services Council (CSC) ‘Collective Impact for Youth‘ Award! This award is presented by 2-1-1 Broward, a resource that provides Broward County residents with health and human services in their community.
We have been a part of the Community Foundation of Broward’s ‘School is Cool‘ initiative, along with CSC, that strives to increase the high school graduation rates to 90% by 2020. The focus of this community-wide initiative is attendance, behavior, and course performance, three areas that our staff monitors daily.
Last year at the Academy Awards, we received the ‘Non- Profit Organization of the Year Rising Star’ Award displaying that although we are “young and small,” our “potential for growth and impact is high.”
Awards will be given out at the PNC Bank Non-Profit Academy Awards on Friday, February 13th at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino at 11:00 a.m. Regardless of the outcome, we feel privileged to be a part of this great event for the second year in a row!
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 19th, we participated in our first annual Day of Service! Thanks to a generous gift from Broward College, we were able to renovate our donated modular and overall increase our Western High Firewall Center by 20 students.
With the help of over 30 volunteers, we painted inside and outside, installed hurricane shutters, put in doors, planted a garden, and more!
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is ‘what are you doing for others?’”
– Martin Luther King Jr.
We are grateful for the numerous families, Town of Davie Staff, Calvary Chapel Plantation attendees, Broward College and Nova Southeastern University students, and Firewall Centers’ student and Board members that showed up willing to do all they were capable of.
“I chose to volunteer for Firewall Centers because…You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow and I might not be able to pick up a paintbrush or a shovel anymore, so I’ll do everything I can to help and serve today,” said Broward College student, Daniela Jahncke.
If you would like to see photos from the MLK Day of Service, feel free to take a look at our Facebook Page.
Last month, Firewall’s Pompano Beach Middle School Center was pleased to host a group of Gap clothing stores’ District Managers. In town for a regional meeting, these managers took time out of their busy schedules to spend the afternoon inspiring our students. They brought snacks as well as blank t-shirts, paint, glitter, stencils, fabric markers, and more and encouraged our kids to create their own masterpieces! The kids had such a great time expressing themselves, as their artwork reflected their favorite school subjects, hobbies, and interests. We are grateful that the Gap came out to support us, and we are excited for a continued community partnership that helps give our kids a chance to succeed!
Firewall’s First Annual Servant Leader Scholarship!
Kathy
With all of our growth and success we have lots of positions to fill!
Wow, what a year! It was incredible to see all of our students, parents, staff, supporters, and volunteers gathered together to celebrate at Firewall’s annual award’s ceremony. At the event, beach balls were tossed around the crowd, certificates of participation were handed to students, pictures were taken, and individual students from across Firewall’s six Centers were recognized for their achievements as was the graduating senior class.
On Saturday, May 3rd, Firewall Students along with their Firewall mentors, Regent Bank volunteers, and other community leaders worked hard as they served at the Davie Fire Station, planted trees at the Davie Police Station, landscaped public spaces, painted at the Davie Rodeo Grounds, cleaned up and beautified Pompano Beach Middle School by mulching, planting trees and flowers, as well as served food to the homeless in downtown Ft. Lauderdale. Firewall Centers hosted its Serve-A-Thon event, a hands-on opportunity for students to learn the value of giving back while making a lasting difference in their neighborhoods. Thanks to a $15,000 match together with the support of Regent Bank and many generous Firewall Friends, we were able to raise over $50,000 that will allow us to continue to transform the lives of more at-risk youth every day.
