The Miami Lakes Town Foundation has awarded $18,605 in 12 grants to local schools and a non-profit to support education and foster community.
The money comes from the annual Miami Lakes Food & Wine Festival, which will be held Feb. 1, 2025.
The winners are:
• $1,750 Julio Echemendia, assistant principal, Hialeah-
Miami Lakes Adult Community Education Center. For the medical assistant, pharmacy tech and phlebotomy tech programs.
• $1,000 Emily Ramos, choir and keyboard director, Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School. To purchase additional keyboards due to the popularity of the class and improve the quality of music education.
• $2,000 Maurits Acosta, executive director, Virtutem Populo. For the Miami-Dade Civic Knowledge Bowl, a live-streamed competition for students about their knowledge of government institutions, history and geography.
• $1,000 Rukayat Adebisi, legal studies academy lead teacher, Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School. For the TrojanMUN III competitive Model United Nations training conference for middle school students.
• $1,250 Miriam Ochoa, teacher and coach, Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School. To buy weightlifting and strength training equipment to encourage physical fitness and mental well-being.
• $700 Ada Romeu, electives teacher, Miami Lakes K-8 Center. For an iPad, pen and micro-phone to be used for the daily Be Kind Broadcast and yearbook.
• $1,000 Jenifer Simeon, teacher, Miami Lakes K-8 Center. For the new Owl Model United Nations and Debate Club, to raise funds for competition fees, supplies and other supplies.
• $260 Lorena Salgueiro Gonzalez, teacher, Miami Lakes K-8 Center. For pickleball Passion, to bring the sport to the school, build cardiovascular fitness and encourage families to join.
• $250 Lisolette Garcia, third grade teacher, Miami Lakes K-8 Center. To fund the Read with Me program and promote family engagement and reading fluency.
• $1,100 Rachel Rhodes, language arts teacher, Miami Lakes K-8 Center. To buy tablets, headphones and microphones to enhance Language Arts learning.
• $3,295 Teresita Turino, third grade teacher, Miami Lakes K-8 Center. To continue access to Reflex Math and improve students’ math skills.
• $5,000 Sharon Loyd, music teacher, Miami Lakes K-8 Center. Provide elementary students with smaller sized string instruments and be part of an orchestra.
To learn more about the Miami Lakes Food & Wine Festival go to https://mlfoodwinefest.com/