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June 2011

Goombay 2011

Did you miss the Miami/Bahamas Goombay Festival this year? If you did, you were not alone. It seems that a lot of folks were not aware it was taking place but thanks to our friend Dj Lady B. for sharing a few pics of the weekend. Be sure to follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Dj_LadyB_Miami and if you're cool people, she might friend you on Facebook at www.facebook.com/djladybullet.

If you have photos from Goombay, do share. Smooches...






























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Rep. Cynthia Stafford Town Hall Meeting







Florida House of Representatives
Representative Cynthia Stafford
District 109


TOWN HALL MEETING
THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2011
7:00 p.m.

African Heritage Cultural Arts Center
6161 NW 22 Avenue
Miami, Florida 33142

For more information please call:
305-571-2100



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Congresswoman Wilson Holds Community Forum with U.S. Deputy Postmaster General to Discuss Edison Post Office Closing

U.S. Postal Service Working Hard to Accommodate Needs of Liberty City Community and Maintain Access to Postal Services for Local Residents

Washington, DC – On Saturday June 4th, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson held a community forum with U.S. Deputy Postmaster General Ronald Stroman to discuss the closing of Liberty City’s Edison Post Office. The meeting served to ensure that Edison area residents maintain access to adequate postal services. The Edison Post Office, located at 760 NW 62nd Street, has served residents of the community since 1953. The forum took place in the Community Room of Edison Towers Apartments.

As a result of the meeting, the U.S. Postal Service is considering establishing a mobile unit to serve the community. The unit would offer the full services of a post office, with the exception of selling money orders. In addition, local residents expressed concern that the Buena Vista Post Office, which is now the closest postal facility, offers no parking. The Miami Postmaster General promised that he would try to identify a solution to that problem.

All residents with a Post Office (P.O.) Box at the facility will receive a change of address card. Local mail delivery will not be affected by the closing. Area residents are asked to direct their questions or concerns to the Miami Postmaster’s Office at (305) 470-0455.






Congresswoman Frederica Wilson listens to representatives of the United States Postal Service explain to residents how they can maintain access to reliable and adequate postal services. From left to right: Robert D. Carr, Postmaster, Miami, FL; Jeffery Becker, South Florida District Manager, U.S. Postal Service; Congresswoman Wilson; Brenda Davis, President, Edison Triplex Tenant Association; U.S. Deputy Postmaster General Ron Stroman



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Miami Dade College Announces 2011 Endowed Teaching Chairs

Recognition as an endowed teaching chair at Miami Dade College is one the most prestigious honors of a Miami Dade faculty member and among the College's most valued traditions. It is made possible by the generosity of donors who also recognize the program’s value, and by the ongoing work of the MDC Foundation.

As much as any program at the College, the Endowed Teaching Chair reflects the College's identity and aspiration to excellence as an institution. On a day-to-day basis, these professors accomplish the heart of MDC’s mission.

Congratulations to the following eight professors, who will join the list of 286 endowed chair recipients honored since the program's inception in 1992:

Honorees & Endowed Chair

Ece Karayalcin
Women in Business Endowed Teaching Chair

Lourdes España
Rotary Club of Miami Endowed Teaching Chair

Elena Perez-Mirabal
AT&T II Endowed Teaching Chair

Nora Dawkins
Dade Community Foundation Endowed Teaching Chair

Magdalena Lamarre
MDC Alumni Association Endowed Teaching Chair

Miriam Abety
Andrew Blank Endowed Teaching Chair

Lenore Yates
Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation Endowed Teaching Chair

Juán Morata
Philip Morris Endowed Teaching Chair



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MIDDLE PASSAGE TO BE REMEMBERED AT HISTORIC VIRGINIA KEY BEACH

The 17th Annual Sunrise Ancestral Remembrance of the Middle Passage Ceremony, an informal, grassroots gathering with a profound purpose, will be held once again, beginning at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 19, 2011, at Historic Virginia Key Beach Park, 4020 Virginia Beach Drive, off Rickenbacker Causeway on Virginia Key (Park entrance is a left turn at the second traffic signal). The Ceremony, which always begins with a Native American blessing of the land, is not linked to any particular religion or ideology, and welcomes all to pause and remember both those who perished in the Middle Passage, or Atlantic “slave trade,” and those who survived to give life to our present and future generations.

The date this year coincides, appropriately, with Fathers Day, and with Juneteenth, the growing commemoration of June 19, 1865, when the last of the enslaved persons in the United States, in east Texas, received the news that the Civil War had ended and that they were now free. That date, more than that of the Emancipation Proclamation two-and-a-half years earlier, marks the true end of legalized slavery in the United States. The Ancestral Remembrance also takes on special significance this year because 2011 has been declared by the United Nations General Assembly to be the International Year for People of African Descent.

The location of the Ceremony is important as well, not only as the scenic site of Miami’s onetime only “Colored Beach” during the segregation era, but also because South Florida is rapidly emerging as an epicenter of Middle Passage and Underground Railroad history, escape routes, with such sites as Cape Florida on Key Biscayne and several in the Florida Keys.

The oceanfront Ceremony welcomes offerings of fruits, flowers, grains, nuts, and other appropriate items, which are carried out to the sea as a remembrance of the millions of human beings who were bought and sold like livestock in the barbaric “slave trade” and transported in horrific conditions for more than four centuries. The survivors not only built new nations with their skills, knowledge, and spirituality, but also give birth to new African peoples. As pointed out by the UNESCO International Slave Route Project, which commemorates the “trade” and its Abolition, those human beings, whose names have been lost to history, must never be forgotten.



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Sun Life Financial Seeking Grant Applications from South Florida Non-profit Organizations for Sun Life Rising Star Awards

My apologies for posting this so late but do share this with any local nonprofits working with youth from underserved communities. DEADLINE IS JULY 1!

Sun Life Financial invites organizations to apply for $220,000 in grants and scholarships that provide educational opportunities and promote financial stability in under-served youth

Sun Life Financial Inc. and the Miami Dolphins are seeking Sun Life Rising Star Award grant applications from non-profit organizations in South Florida that advocate for youth from under-served communities. Applications are now available at www.SunLifeStadium.com/RisingStar. The deadline for submissions is July 1.

The Sun Life Rising Star Award program is designed to improve the lives of under-served youth by providing financial resources and education to students and non-profit organizations committed to increasing success in high school and beyond. Each winning organization will receive a $50,000 grant and other unique resources. Additionally as part of the application process, each organization will nominate an exemplary student for a $5,000 Sun Life Rising Star scholarship to help finance a college education, with the goal of helping students achieve long-term financial stability.

Now in its second year, the program will again invest more than $1 million to outstanding students and non-profit organizations in major markets across the country, including Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and South Florida. The Sun Life Rising Star Awards program is the educational cornerstone program of the Miami Dolphins Foundation.

"Financial security and sustainability are the building blocks of the Sun Life brand, and that’s why it’s a priority for us to continue investing in and improving the lives of these outstanding students who are committed to furthering their education," said Sun Life Financial U.S. President Wes Thompson. “It is our intention that the Sun Life Rising Star Awards serve as a catalyst to help these incredibly talented and deserving students and organizations embark on a path to a sound financial future.”

To be considered for a Sun Life Rising Star Award grant, organizations must have 501(c) (3) tax-exempt status and promote skills that directly translate to educational success in high school to students under the age of 21. Applications will be reviewed by a local judging panel consisting of community leaders and senior-level educators.

As part of the application process, each non-profit will nominate an outstanding student from its organization for a chance to receive a $5,000 college scholarship. Nominees must be high school seniors actively involved in an organization that shares the Sun Life Rising Star Awards’ mission; they must also plan to pursue post-secondary education, exhibit leadership qualities, and demonstrate a strong commitment to their communities. Nominated students are required to submit a 750-word essay on how financial education contributes to future success.


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Miami Dade College Named to the 2010 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll

Miami Dade College’s (MDC) reputation for exemplary service-learning and civic engagement, both as an institution and for its individual faculty and student projects, has been recognized on the national level once again. This time, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) recently named MDC to its 2010 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, which recognizes colleges and universities whose work in the community has helped achieve meaningful results.

CNCS oversees the Honor Roll in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact, and the American Council on Education. Honorees are chosen based on a series of criteria, including scope and innovation of service projects, percentage of student participation in service activities, incentives for service, and the extent to which the school offers academic service-learning courses.

This is the fifth consecutive year that MDC has made the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. “This is an amazing designation for MDC,” said Josh Young, director of MDC’s Center for Community Involvement. “It is very hard for community colleges to compete with four year schools for an award of this magnitude, due to funding and many of our students being here for a shorter period of time. Thankfully, we earned another Honor Roll distinction this year. Special commendation is in order for the 285 MDC faculty members who integrated academic service-learning into their classes and engaged more than 8,300 students in course-related service.”

The President’s Honor Roll, launched in 2006, increases the public’s awareness of the contributions that colleges and their students make to local communities and the nation as a whole. President Obama has pledged to make service a central cause of his administration and wishes to commemorate the significant role that higher institutions, their students, staff, and faculty play in helping to solve pressing social problems in the nation’s communities.

For more information about MDC’s Center for Community Involvement and its various projects, contact Josh Young at 305-237-7477 or [email protected].


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Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida showcases Brownsville revitalization

Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida (NHSSF), a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting responsible homeownership, highlighted its ongoing revitalization efforts in the Miami community of Brownsville during the NeighborWorks® Week events, June 4 through June 11, 2011. In conjunction with the national NeighborWorks® organization, NHSSF invited South Floridians to participate in a series of events that showcased the revitalization of Miami's Brownsville community, shared the story of the community's past, present and bright future - and illustrated NHSSF's commitment to the Brownsville community.



The first home purchased by NHSSF through its NSP2 grant and meeting place for the Brownsville Walking Tour



Walkers meeting with Everett Stewart, President of the Brownsville Neighborhood Civic Association (right) and Benjii Powers (middle)



Attendees of the Walking Tour learn a brief history of Brownsville by Benji Power (middle)


NHSSF's commitment to the Brownsville neighborhood extends far past this one day. NHSSF has recently purchased a plot of abandoned land near Brownsville, in the Gladeview neighborhood, in order to build 27 affordable single-family homes, giving local residents safer, affordable places to live.



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Miss Jamaica Florida Pageant 2011, June 26th

On June 26th, several of South Florida’s finest young ladies will compete for the coveted title of Miss Jamaica Florida 2011. The Miss Jamaica Florida Pageant, hosted by The Partners for Youth Foundation, celebrates 22 years of elegance and sophistication at the Coral Springs Center for the Arts at 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 26th 2011.

This year, The Miss Jamaica Florida Pageant is celebrating Jamaicans around the world by embodying the theme, “I AM JAMAICA” as a tribute to the mission of the Jamaican Diaspora of the Southern United States. “As a staple in the Jamaican community for 22 years, we recognize the importance of sustaining our Jamaican culture while we make our home away from home”, says pageant Co- Director June Minto. Marcia Rigg-Baker, Pageant Founder and Co-Director, echoed that sentiment, “We pride ourselves on being more than a beauty pageant. We have always been an organization that places particular importance on the cultural development of youth in South Florida”.

Contestants ages 5- 21, will compete in four age categories; Little Miss, Junior Miss, Miss Teen, and Miss. More than 20 young ladies will showcase their Grace, Glamour, Poise and Pride in evening wear, speech and creative expression segments. This year’s creative expression segment of the competition is dedicated to members of the Jamaican Diaspora that have made remarkable contributions to their respective craft and as a result have enhanced the Jamaican culture globally. Honorees - Attorney Marlon Hill, Musician Marcia Griffiths and General Colin Powell to name a few, include local and international Jamaicans of distinction.

Call 561.317.4479 for tickets and information.


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MIAMI-DADE STUDENTS SHINE IN FCAT SCIENCE

Miami-Dade County Public Schools students’ scores on the Science Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test improved markedly for this year, outpacing growth statewide at all three grade levels tested. Additionally, M-DCPS’ growth from 2010 to 2011 surpassed the state and neighboring districts in Reading and Science. The percentages of M-DCPS students scoring high on the new FCAT 2.0 Reading in 2011 were comparable to those seen in 2010 across all grade levels, paralleling statewide results.

“It’s encouraging to see that our students are progressing in Reading and Science at a faster rate than their counterparts in other South Florida counties, as well as across the state,” said Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho. “Our focus now will be to maintain that dynamic as we move forward.”

Student results for the new FCAT 2.0 Reading in Grades 3 through 10 and Mathematics in Grades 3 through 8 are reported as equated FCAT Equivalent Developmental Scale Scores (EDSS) because the new FCAT 2.0 scale and achievement levels will not be available in 2010-11. However, student results for the FCAT Mathematics in Grade 10 and FCAT Science in Grades 5, 8, and 11 are reported using the traditional FCAT scale and achievement levels.

Overall, more than 230,000 students in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) participated in the Spring 2011 FCAT / FCAT 2.0 administration.

Complete District, State, and school summary reports will be posted as they become available on the FLDOE website at http://fcat.fldoe.org/mediapacket/2011/default.asp. In addition, an interactive database will be available at http://fcat.fldoe.org/results/default.asp. Information about the transition to FCAT 2.0 and how it may impact students statewide may be found at http://fcat.fldoe.org/, with additional information on the scoring process in Understanding FCAT 2.0 Reports at http://fcat.fldoe.org/fcat2/pdf/11ufrfinal.pdf. School shipments of Individual Student Reports will be forwarded to schools for distribution to parents.


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