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Lauderhill considers banking program
Lauderhill, which has a sizable number of unbanked and underbanked households, is currently working on a program that will encourage people to depend on mainstream financial institutions, such as banks and credit unions.
About 50 percent of the city's residents either do not have a bank account or have one but continue to depend on costly alternative financial services, such as check-cashing stores, payday loan providers and pawn shops. Mayor Richard Kaplan, who is the driving force behind "Bank on Lauderhill," wants people to stop spending a sizable amount of their net income on unnecessary fees.
"Many people do not know how to bank, how to open an account," said Kaplan. "They do not have the financial knowledge. We need to do something to help them break the chain of paying fees, sometimes outrageous fees. Some banks and credit unions have unique programs that are designed to help such people; all they need to do is take advantage of them."
Among those who attended a recent meeting organized by the city were representatives from Bank of America, We Florida Financial, PNC Bank, TD Bank, Wells Fargo, Citibank, Florida Prosperity Partnership, 2-1-1 Broward, Lauderhill Chamber of Commerce, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Broward County Housing Authority, United Way ofBroward County, Urban League, Mount Olive Development Corporation, Broward County Family Success Center, and Catalyst Miami. Another meeting is scheduled for March 19.
The success of the "Bank on San Francisco" program has spurred similar initiatives in other parts of the country, including Florida. With the support of "Bank on Florida," an initiative of the Florida Prosperity Partnership, local "bank on" chapters have opened in such places as Orlando, Tampa Bay, Lee County and Jacksonville.
"What we are trying to do is not brand new for the banks or the nonprofits," said Elijah Wooten, the city economic development manager. "All those who attended the meeting were familiar with the 'bank on' programs in other parts of the state and country. They all are very supportive. At the next meeting, we will come up with concrete ideas on how to implement the program in our community.
"About 30 percent of the people in the city are unbanked," Wooten said. "The underbanked [population] is close to 15 percent. We want the unbanked to open bank accounts and the underbanked to stop depending on alternative financial services, such as check-cashing stores. We want them to start saving money."
Kaplan is expected to talk about the program at the meeting of the Northwest Council of Elected Officials in Lauderhill next month. He intends to present the program at the Broward League of Cities meeting, as well.
"The United Way of Broward County tried to set up 'Bank on South Florida' a couple of years ago, but it never quite took off," said Kaplan. "I am trying to bring it back from the ashes. After introducing this program in Lauderhill, I will try to get other cities to adopt it, as well. The percentage of unbanked and underbanked people in Broward County is way greater than the state and national averages."
The city intends to launch a publicity campaign once the program is launched. "The banks and social agencies that are a part of the program will also spread the word," he said. "My goal is to roll it out by May or June."
Twenty percent of people in the country are underbanked, while 7.7 percent are unbanked, said Bill Mills, vice president of Florida Prosperity Partnership. He expects the proposed program to have a substantial effect on people in Lauderhill.
"In Florida, 6.2 percent of people do not have a bank account, while 19.9 percent have a bank account but still depend on alternative financial services that are costly," Mills said. "According to a study, an unbanked household will spend over $40,000 over a working lifetime on alternative services; that is a lot of money that can be saved. We are in over 60 counties, trying to bring together local financial institutions and community partners to help unbanked and underbanked households."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/lauderhill/fl-sf-lauderhillbank-0311-20150306-story.html
Selma anniversary unites Miami
By: Carol Porter
In memory of “Bloody Sunday” on March 7 in Selma, Ala., a huge contingent of people gathered at the Torch of Friendship right outside the stores of Bayside and the towers and condos on the Miami waterfront to march through the streets of Miami to nearby Overtown.
All races and ages, Black, white and Hispanic, gathered to honor those who put their lives on the line 50 years ago at Selma and to renew their own commitment to democracy.
"Selma is Miami," "Selma is now" are some of the phrases on signs carried by the marchers.
Their final destination in Overtown was St. John’s Baptist Church, where they were greeted by a rendition of the “Ballad of Harry Moore,” a Brevard County activist who was killed when his house was firebombed on Christmas Day in 1954, and where they watched PBS’ “Eyes on the Prize” and heard other speakers. More than a dozen civil rights and community organizers had a presence, including the Miami branch of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Florida New Majority, the Miami-Dade NAACP, the AFL-CIO of South Florida, Catalyst Miami, Fanm Ayisyen Nan Miyami, the Florida Immigrant Coalition, LIUNA Southeast Laborers Council, Miami Workers Center, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, Power U Center for Social Change, SEIU Florida, St. John’s Baptist Church and UNITE Here Local 355.
While the world watched, on Saturday, President Barack Obama gave a solemn address in Selma, a small community best known for the birthplace of the 1965 Selma voting rights movement, the Selma to Montgomery marches, and “Bloody Sunday” when people marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge were bullied, billy-clubbed, tear-gassed and driven back. Other marches took place during 1965, where people fighting for their civil rights were bullied, attacked and some were even murdered. The marches and the resulting coverage by the media led to the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson and other advances in equal rights but many still feel it has not gone far enough.
While making their way along Biscayne Boulevard through the streets of Miami to Overtown, marchers chanted “We Shall Not Be Moved,” “We Shall Overcome,” and “Ella’s Song,” all songs born during the Civil Rights movement. At one point, kneeling down in the street was a clear reminder of the moment when Dr. Martin Luther King and his followers kneeled down in the street in front of the police officers who had attempted to block their way to Montgomery.
People chanted with bullhorns and music pumped through the speakers of the car in front of them. Members of local law enforcement led them through the street. They marched past the proposed the site of Worldcenter mall, a project that some marchers said needs to hire more locals.
Area residents, hearing the music and the voices of the marchers, came out of their businesses and churches to watch and a few shook hands with the marchers, or gave them the thumbs up while they made their way through the streets. Marchers linked arms together and also pumped their fists in the air.
Among those who took part in the march were Loreal Arscott and Deidrea Belfon, and Arscott’s 4-year-old daughter Leia and her 9-year-old niece Jaliah Nelson. Both women said they grew up watching documentaries and reading about Selma and also had seen the movie with Deidra and Jaliah.
“Jaliah said she was sad that people were being mistreated because they didn’t do anything wrong,” said Arscott.
Ninety-year-old Eufaula Frazier said she was not well enough to travel to Selma but she was glad to watch the proceedings on television, and she had been to every Democratic convention since 1972 including the recent one in Denver, Co. where President Barack Obama was nominated for a second time.
“I’m so glad 50 years later, God spared us to be here,” said Frazier, “so we can celebrate that moment.”
Reverend Gary Johnson, director of the Miami branch of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, spoke of the historical significance of Selma and how people today must turn out to vote so their deaths would not be in vain and that the future of people’s rights would be secured.
“Fifty years ago, Americans of all ages, risked it all to secure everyone’s right to vote,” said Johnson. “The sacrifices of the past have yielded some great gains, but the fight to ensure that everyone can be a part of those successes still continues, especially here in Miami.”
Gihan Perera, executive director of Florida New Majority, spoke of Selma’s significance and the battle of voting and other rights that still continue to the present day.
“Today we see not just an attack on voting rights, but also battles against gentrification, police brutality, and the school-to-prison pipeline,” said Perera. “This is a chance for people to honor the past and to be inspired to continue the work of making this democracy — and this city — benefit everyone who dreams of a better life for themselves and their families.”
http://miamitimesonline.com/news/2015/mar/11/selma-anniversary-unites-miami/?page=2
New Data Show 3.2 Million Americans Benefit from Volunteer Tax Preparation
Nearly $4 billion in refunds reached every state in the US
- The vast majority of volunteer tax preparers participate in the IRS-sponsored Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs. They must pass IRS certification tests annually to demonstrate their competency.
- VITA sites are generally located at community and neighborhood centers, libraries, schools, shopping malls and other convenient locations across the country. Find a VITA location near you.
- Currently, an estimated 96,000 IRS-certified volunteers are helping over three million taxpayers across the country file their taxes and get their refunds.
- Updates about learning and advocacy opportunities made available through the Network.
- News about the latest developments in the field of tax preparers serving low- and moderate-income taxpayers.
- Valuable resources for volunteer tax preparers, VITA/TCE program managers, tax site coordinators, LITC volunteers and others interested in using tax assistance as a gateway to opportunity.
- Discounts to Taxpayer Opportunity Network-hosted convenings.
Florida Senate to consider Medicaid expansion proposal
By: Kathleen McGrory and David Smiley
A Senate committee will consider a controversial plan Tuesday that would extend federally subsidized health insurance to more than 800,000 poor Floridians — but require a waiver from the federal government to pay for it.
The proposal (SPB 7044) would establish a state-run private insurance exchange available to Florida residents who earn less than $16,000 in annual income, or $33,000 for a family of four.
Beneficiaries would be required to work or attend school, and pay monthly premiums.
It won’t be the first time Florida lawmakers debate the issue. The Republican-led Legislature refused to expand Medicaid in 2013 as part of the Affordable Care Act.
But the question of federal funding has resurfaced in the Senate, because the state now risks losing a separate pot of federal money that helps hospitals pay the costs of treating uninsured, under-insured and Medicaid patients.
Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, has said expanding Medicaid could help the hospitals that would be affected by covering some of the health care costs for low-income Floridians.
“Some say Florida should not expand the existing Medicaid program and I agree,” Gardiner wrote in a memo to the Senate. “But we have the obligation to make coverage affordable and the opportunity to develop a consumer-driven approach — one that provides access to high-quality, affordable health care coverage while promoting personal responsibility. We should develop options that uniquely suit the needs of Floridians.”
A spokesperson for House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, declined to comment on the Senate proposal. But last week Crisafulli said House Republicans were “not interested in expanding Medicaid as we know it.”
The federal government has said it will not renew a $2 billion program called the Low Income Pool — or LIP — that helps hospitals pay the costs of treating uninsured, under-insured and Medicaid patients.
The state is working with the federal government to negotiate a successor program. But there is no definitive time line for an agreement to be reached.
Late last week, Senate Budget Chairman Tom Lee said the uncertainty surrounding the LIP program had brought the budget process to a “standstill.”
“Everything is on the table, including... being here in May,” Lee said, suggesting lawmakers might need to have a special or extended legislative session to finish the budget.
Senate leaders say accepting federal Medicaid expansion funds would ease the burden on hospitals like Jackson Health System that treat uninsured patients.
“Extra federal funds will enable more of our friends and neighbors to obtain health coverage,” Gardiner wrote in his memo.
But House Budget Chairman Richard Corcoran says he believes the Low Income Pool money will come through — and that Medicaid expansion is unnecessary.
“We were in this exact situation last year,” Corcoran told reporters last week. “It wasn’t until the second week of April that we knew we were getting the LIP money, and we were fine.”
The proposal in the Senate is likely to win the approval of the Senate Health Policy Committee Tuesday.
The bill would create a new health insurance marketplace known as the Florida Health Insurance Affordability Exchange. It would be run by Florida Health Choices, which operates the state’s existing insurance exchange.
The income-based eligibility requirements are the same as those outlined in the federal Medicaid expansion proposal. The work requirement, however, is specific to Florida.
The Florida plan also requires participants to pay monthly premiums and incur $25 fines for “inappropriate” trips to the emergency room.
“Skin in the game is very important,” Senate Health Policy Chairman Aaron Bean said. “When I go to the doctor, I have to pay a little bit. It is important that people do that as we’re going forward.”
Because the plan is different from Medicaid expansion as envisioned under the Affordable Care Act, Florida would need a waiver to receive the $51 billion available for Medicaid expansion in the state.
Bean pointed out that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a federal regulatory agency, had recently approved a Medicaid expansion proposal in Indiana with some similar components. But CMS would not approve Indiana’s request for a work referral as a condition of eligibility.
Some local elected officials are urging Florida lawmakers to move forward.
At a Monday press conference, Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado pointed out that hundreds of thousands of Floridians earn too much to qualify for Medicaid — but not enough to qualify for a premium subsidy to help cover the cost of private insurance on the federal exchange.
“This is a real crisis, but it’s been under the radar,” Regalado said. “I really think Miami has a problem with this gap.”
The mayor was joined by Harry Melo, 28, who recently moved to Miami-Dade County to pursue a master’s degree in higher education administration. He learned he no longer qualified for Medicaid when he attended an Florida International University enrollment fair.
“I considered driving back to New York, where I wouldn’t have to pay for out-of-state tuition [or] on-campus housing, I can accept student loans and have insurance,” he said.
Melo said he would likely remain uninsured — and hope the Florida Legislature expands Medicaid.
Julio Fuentes, president of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, made another argument for expansion during Monday’s press conference: It could create as many as 100,000 new jobs in Florida.
“From a business perspective, it’s absolutely a no-brainer,” Fuentes said. “From a moral perspective, it’s imperative.”
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/health-care/article13142507.html#storylink=cpy
Miami Leaders Urge Lawmakers To Expand Medicaid
By: Lisann Ramos
Harry Melo is a 25-year-old grad student from New York who came to Miami two months ago for school. In New York he was able to sign up for Medicaid.
He was surprised to find out that in Florida there’s a “coverage gap” where uninsured people who can’t afford health care insurance also don’t qualify for Obamacare. Melo is now in that gap.
“Shouldn’t my concern as a student be studying and receiving A’s," Melo said, "rather than what to do or where to go and how much this would cost me as an uninsured adult."
Melo joined Mayor TomásRegalado and other healthcare advocates at Miami City Hall Monday morning to express their desires to the legislature, currently in session.
With Medicaid expansion, the state would choose to accept federal funds for health care. Supporters say that the money could fund hospitals, create more health care jobs and save taxpayers money that would otherwise be used to treat the uninsured.
Julio Fuentes is the president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He believes that a Medicaid expansion is financially sound.
“From a business perspective, this is absolutely a no brainer," Fuentes said. "From a moral perspective, it’s imperative."
Last week a bill was introduced in the Senate that would be an alternative to Medicaid expansion. The bill would still allow the state to receive the federal funds. But instead of Medicaid, consumers would receive vouchers to purchase private insurance.
Although this is a step in the direction of Medicaid expansion, Regalado urged Florida Legislators to take further action.
“This bill in the Senate does something, but it doesn’t do everything,” said Regalado. “For Miami it’s important because there are thousands of people here that do not have health coverage and that will be a brunt for the city. These are our residents so we have to take care of them.”
This is an issue that continues to divide the legislation. The federal funds would fully cover the expansion through 2016.
Those against Medicaid say that the program is flawed and shouldn’t be expanded. They also don’t want the state to be left funding the program once the federal money is reduced.
http://wlrn.org/post/miami-leaders-urge-lawmakers-expand-medicaid
Miami mayor backs advocacy group that aims to close health care coverage gap
By: Nina Lincoff
Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado will back Florida CHAIN, an advocacy group working to close Florida's health care coverage gap, at a press conference Monday.
Regalado will join Julio Fuentes, president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Athena Smith Ford, advocacy director for Florida CHAIN, and other community leaders to call on Florida lawmakers to take action to boost signups. The press conferences is at 9:45 a.m. in Miami's City Hall Commission Chambers, 3500 Pan American Drive.
This year, during open enrollment for health care coverage, South Florida had the most signups among major metro regions, with 756,137 signups through the HealthCare.gov website. Florida also led signups among states, with 1,600,006 new signups or re-enrollments, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
However, nearly 1 million Floridians are still unable to get health care coverage, said Florida CHAIN, the statewide health advocacy group organizing the event.
"Over 280,000 people in Miami-Dade fall into this coverage gap," Ford said ."City of Miami Mayor Regalado will join local uninsured residents [at this press conference] … to [help] close the coverage gap."
The gap was created in part by the state's refusal of federal Medicaid expansion, which amounts to a denial of $50 billion available to Florida through the Affordable Care Act, according to Florida CHAIN. The ACA, otherwise known as Obamacare, allows for individuals to select a health care insurance plan through a state or federally-run competitive healthcare marketplace.
http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2015/03/06/miami-mayor-backs-advocacy-group-that-aims-to.html
Under new budget pressures, Florida Senate debates Medicaid expansion
By: Kathleen McGrory
A potential budget crisis is fueling a new conversation about Medicaid expansion in Florida.
The issue was a non-starter in 2014, largely because House Republicans oppose expanding Medicaid as envisioned under the Affordable Care Act. But Florida now risks losing a separate pot of federal money known as the Low Income Pool that helps hospitals like Jackson Health System treat uninsured patients.
Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, said the potential $1.3 billion loss in funding has given lawmakers a reason to reconsider Medicaid expansion.
“We have an obligation to look at this issue,” Gardiner said.
It will still be a tough sell in the Florida House.
House Speaker Steve Crisafulli on Tuesday said the federal government wasn’t offering enough flexibility on how to spend the $51 billion available to extend health insurance coverage in Florida to cover an estimated 800,000 people.
“We feel like some progress has been made in that arena,” said Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island. “But at this point in time, we are not interested in expanding Medicaid as we know it.”
The state healthcare budget will be one of the most closely watched issues of the 2015 legislative session.
The LIP program is set to end June 30 under an agreement with the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a federal regulatory agency. The state is hoping to reach a deal with the federal government on a successor program that would continue funding Florida hospitals that treat large numbers of uninsured, under-insured and Medicaid patients.
If no agreement is reached, expanding Medicaid eligibility could help cover some of the healthcare costs for poor Floridians, but the state would still need to help fund those safety-net hospitals because Medicaid consistently pays providers less than cost.
“If the negotiations don’t go our way, we need to have options,” Senate Health Policy Chairman Aaron Bean said.
Gov. Rick Scott ratcheted up the pressure Wednesday, writing President Barack Obama to say he would oppose the use of state dollars to backfill the LIP program.
“Florida taxpayers fund our federal government and deserve to get a return on their investment,” he wrote. “Moreover, we have worked hard to turn Florida’s economy around and cannot afford to fund programs started by the federal government.”
Still, Scott said he was hopeful about the ongoing negotiations.
“We are optimistic that you will not terminate LIP and we will be able to reach an agreement on how best to structure this program in a way that protects both our state’s most vulnerable residents as well as state and federal taxpayers,” he wrote.
Later in the day, the Senate Health Policy Committee used the LIP issue as a jumping off point for a conversation on Medicaid expansion.
The panel heard testimony from a bipartisan coalition of business groups and lawmakers known as a Healthy Florida Works. The group has a plan to extend healthcare coverage by creating a Florida-specific exchange where insurance companies can offer health plans and receive a fixed monthly premium per beneficiary. The beneficiaries would be required to pay monthly premiums, and either search for employment or enroll in job training programs.
The Florida Chamber of Commerce also expressed support for Medicaid expansion, but said spending on the program should be limited to 32 percent of the state budget.
“It’s complicated, it’s controversial, it’s not popular,” President Mark Wilson told the panel about his proposal. “But we’re talking about lives, we’re talking about the state budget, and we’re talking about making Florida healthy.”
Some attendees, however, said Florida should explore other options.
Sal Nuzzo, of the conservative James Madison Institute, called Medicaid “inefficient,” and urged lawmakers to focus on policies that support telemedicine and medical education programs.
“If we were to move forward with concrete reforms in the healthcare arena, as opposed to expanding a broken socialized program, we would generate the kinds of solutions that would make it such that Medicaid expansion wouldn’t be necessary,” he said.
Gardiner, the Senate president, said he’s not sure where the debate will lead.
“I haven’t read the last chapter on this one,” he said. “We, at least in the Senate, will have a discussion [to see] if it is the best way to go for Florida.”
The talk in Tallahassee over possible Medicaid expansion came the same day U.S. Supreme Court justices questioned lawyers in the latest politically charged fight over the Affordable Care Act. At issue: whether Obamacare beneficiaries in states like Florida without a state-run exchange are eligible for the tax subsidies that make the federal health insurance program more affordable.
U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, attended the oral arguments in Washington.
Castor said she was “heartened” by Gardiner’s comments about discussing Medicaid expansion.
“I would hope the Legislature takes a really hard look at the creative proposals that have been brought forward,” she said.
Responsible Wage Ordinance Passes Unanimously!
By: Cynthia Hernandez, South Florida AFL-CIO
On Thursday, February 26th, the City of Miami Commissioners unanimously voted to pass the “Responsible Wage Ordinance.” The Coalition for Responsible Wages, a diverse group of faith, labor, community-based organizations, immigrant rights groups and university researchers came together to fight for an ordinance that will raise the wages of Miami’s construction workers and their families.
The Responsible Wage Ordinance will address multiple challenges: the ordinance will strengthen working families; decrease unemployment and poverty; reduce crippling tax deficits, prohibit wage theft practices, ensure safer workplace conditions, and promote more robust economic development. The Responsible Wage Ordinance is "a rising tide that will lift all boats." Beyond wages, the ordinance is designed to build Miami's workforce capacity by expanding skills training and apprenticeship programs. The Responsible Wage Ordinance also introduces new safeguards and accountability measures for public projects. The ordinance decreases the waste of public tax dollars and increases the transparency of the contracting process.
Research shows that every dollar spent on responsible wage projects generates $1.50 in economic activity--that’s money spent at local businesses such as restaurants, shopping malls, and grocery stores – resulting in larger tax receipts and spurring additional job creation that keeps local communities and businesses economically sound.
In the end, supporting the Ordinance means that commissioners are prioritizing Miami’s economy and working families by creating a more sustainable economic model that keeps our economy and community moving forward. The City of Miami deserves a growing middles class, an expanded skilled workforce, increased economic activity, greater tax receipts, and more accountability of public spending.
The only opponents to the ordinance were the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), who argued that the ordinance would negatively impact small businesses and contractors as a result of added wage and compliance requirements. However, research findings show that small business contractors have benefited from the Miami-Dade County’s Responsible Wage Ordinance which has been in place since 1990. Specifically members of ABC have been awarded over $40 million dollars in construction projects from January 2013-December 2014.
Having a Responsible Wage Ordinance in place will ensure that workers in the City of Miami are paid correctly and avoid wage violations because contractors will have to submit their payroll information. “"Having worked in the construction industry for over 35 years I have seen the abuses of crooked contractors cheating employees and their families out of well-earned wages and benefits. This ordinance will assure tax payer money goes to qualified responsible contractors by extending the 25 yr. old Miami Dade County Ordinance to City of Miami Capital Improvement Projects,” said Mark Schaunaman, of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 487.
It is important to highlight the great importance of working in coalition in order to create changes and wins for Miami-Dade's working families. The various testimonies from community organizations, faith based organizations, university researchers, and small business owners, made it impossible for the opposition to argue that the ordinance was merely a "union" issue. The Responsible Wage Coalition exemplified that this was a community issue. Working together we showed our elected officials that this was not just a "union" ordinance, but rather a community ordinance. And that Miami deserves a growing middles class, an expanded skilled workforce, increased economic activity, greater tax receipts, reduced tax deficits, and more accountability of public spending. Miami’s working families should be our elected officials’ priority and passing the Responsible Wage Ordinance was the responsible thing to do.
MEMO: King v. Burwell: What’s at Stake for Florida
March 3, 2015
Benton Strong, 202.481.8142
[email protected]
FROM: Center for American Progress
DATE: March 3, 2015
SUBJECT: King v. Burwell: What’s at Stake for Florida
— Celia from Miami
- Leah Barber-Heinz, CEO of Florida CHAIN: “The Affordable Care Act is saving lives in our state as the law intended. … It is unfathomable to me that the Supreme Court would take away something so vitally important from so many hardworking families.”
- Dr. Mona Mangat, practicing Florida physician: “Doctors and other health care workers know that health insurance tax credits save lives, and we feel it is vital that the Supreme Court uphold the law.”
University of Miami students pull all-nighter for charity
By: Jackie Salo
Most college students are well-versed in the art of pulling all-nighters. More often than not, their sleep deprivation is in the name of looming paper deadlines and final exams, but some have used this acquired skill-set for a more altruistic reason.
For a whirlwind 25 hours this weekend, University of Miami students worked non-stop developing ad campaigns for 16 local nonprofits, which otherwise could not likely afford such services from an agency. Now in its sixth year, PhilADthropy offers more than 120 advertising and public relations students professional experience and challenges them to conceptualize their client’s message.
“We offer the organizations full ad campaigns as well as any other creative needs,” said Meryl Blau, a professor of advertising who started and coordinates the program. “I like to give my students as much real world experience as possible.”
Students were not introduced to their clients until the beginning of the marathon Friday morning, when organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Paws for You came to discuss concepts with the student team.
Armed with coffee and energy drinks, the students then set off to create everything from websites to billboards for the clients before they returned the next morning.
“They come in really excited to work but they sometimes underestimate their abilities, so they’re always surprised about what they are able to accomplish in this period of time,” Blau said.
Senior Alexandria Van Deusen, a PhilADthropy veteran, says that last year her teams created in one day what usually would take them a month in the classroom. The experience is worth the stress of the time pressure for her.
“This allows you to get a foot in the door,” said Van Deusen, who is a creative advertising minor. “I wanted to get some good exposure to working with clients and be able to apply what I have learned to real-life situations.”
Her team was paired with Catalyst Miami, an anti-poverty foundation. They were undaunted by the sleepless hours ahead, although senior Francisco Alustiza came prepared with pillows just in case.
“Sometimes you hit a wall at 6 a.m., but you power through because the clients are coming soon,” said team leader volunteer Danny Barry, who participated in the marathon as an undergrad all four years.
As the sun rose, students began to feel the elation of their accomplishments.
“Collectively as a whole, this probably was one of our most successful years,” Blau told the students and organizations before the presentations began Saturday morning. “The way some of these teams moved their clients forward is amazing and beautiful.”
For the founder of Project Knucklehead, Amir Whitaker, the results were overwhelming. He started the organization to inspire at-risk youth by introducing them to the arts, but did not have the resources to develop all of the materials needed.
“We never would have thought to take it to this level,” said Whitaker, 30. “This exceeds my expectations by far.”
The students created posters, a press release template, a website, stickers, backpacks, phone covers and social media accounts — all branded with a logo they had developed.
“We wanted the logo to be clean and deliverable to both audiences and target the people who donate as well as the kids,” said Gianna Balasco, a creative advertising senior.
The group said that after first meeting with Whitaker, they became inspired by his determination and selflessness. Whitaker had spent his childhood visiting his parents in prisons and later entered the juvenile justice system himself, but he went on to graduate high school and earn five college degrees. He dreamed of Project Knucklehead two years ago to help young people with stories similar to his.
“We started off the night by reading his personal story and it was very inspiring, so that kept us going,” said Emma Deardorft, a marketing and public relations sophomore.
Whitaker, who got teary-eyed during the presentation, says that he was touched by their hard work and the lengths they took to understand the organization’s message.
“This is going to go a long way,” Whitaker said. “This is going to be why students stay in school. It shows them there are a lot of people who care.”