By Cristina Cabrera Jarro -
MIAMI| The Leadership Learning Center at St. John Bosco celebrated its golden anniversary Nov. 7 with a gala that helped raise over $250,000 toward its expansion.
More than 300 alumni, patrons and staff gathered at the Coral Gables Country Club to mark the occasion with dinner, a silent auction and a performance by The Culture Band and Willy Chirino.
“The gala was successful, but this has been a labor of love. A labor of love built by so many people,” said Mirta Fuentes, executive director of the Leadership Learning Center. “Every single person that attended the gala was there honoring the children in our program.”
Eight years ago, the Leadership Learning Center and its programs faced uncertainty due to lack of funding. The center is located at 1366 N.W. First Street, in what is known as Little Havana in Miami, one of the main entry points for immigrants from Latin American and the Caribbean.
The area’s population is 92 percent Hispanic and 55 percent report speaking little to no English. It is also one of the most poverty-stricken parts of South Florida.
The Leadership Learning Center strives to provide a brighter future for children and their families living in the area by offering them after school programs and homework help in all subject areas; fieldtrips; access to an in-house food pantry; and assistance for women seeking financial independence.
Currently, 144 children, ages 5-14, are enrolled in the program, and more than 500 are on a waiting list.
That list should get much shorter when the Leadership Learning Center moves into a new building now under construction adjacent to its current location, on the grounds of St. John Bosco Church. Donors Jose and Ada Armas provided the lead gift to begin construction on the new building.
The Leadership Learning Center also has been able to survive and flourish thanks to grants from the Children’s Trust and support from organizations such as Humana and MCCI Medical groups.
“The gala validates the work of the last eight years,” Fuentes said. “Whenever we needed something as simple as a poster board, people would go around the corner and buy more than we asked. Look at us now. We are growing.”
Successful alumni of the center include Carlos J. Martinez, Miami Dade County’s Public Defender; attorney Juan J. Enjamio; and, most recently, Ruth Silva, a Miami Dade College student who will be graduating summa cum laude this spring, having received nothing but As throughout her entire time at the college.
“A child just needs one person to believe in them and they will shine like the sun,” Fuentes said.