Miami Lakes K-8 Center (MLK-8) educator Ada Romeu is the middle school chairperson as well as the teacher for MLK- 8’s Pre-Law class, which is the first of its kind in their law studies program. Romeu’s class is on the Lead2Feed Student Leadership Program, which inspires students to serve the community.
Several projects are currently being implemented in conjunction to this program. Sixth graders Sabrina Pena, Alyssa Galarza and Sofia Rodriguez set out to raise awareness and funds from the school community to purchase fuzzy socks for the senior citizens at Palm Springs Villas in Hialeah.
Their goal was to “warm their feet and warm their hearts,” which was translated to Spanish for the residents native tongues. They attached that special message to the socks with a ribbon, purchased some pastries and brought the special items to the facility with smiles and caring words on February 19.
This was their first time at the home, and students were both nervous and excited to meet their new friends. The seniors were so grateful to have students from MLK-8 visiting them, and they were quick to invite them back.
“I was very proud of my students and their parents,” Romeu said. “They attended the event too.”
The students worked together as they crafted an action plan and eventually completed their project, bringing smiles to the community and letting them know that MLK-8 truly cares. This project that started as a vision several weeks ago is now complete, with students completing about 25 hours in community service.
Now these students are excited to take on a new project and eventually return to visit Palm Springs Villas.
“It's a beautiful thing to watch how these children grow as they are faced with challenges throughout the full process,” Romeu explained. “It’s amazing how happy they are to help the community.”