Miami Bridge Youth & Family Services, Inc. Miami-Dade County's only emergency home for youth in crisis Monthly Electronic Newsletter July 2018  VISIT MIAMI BRIDGE ONLINE!

Can you imagine losing your best friend to a bullet in the head as you are walking home from school together? Or being raised by your grandmother because every one that is supposed to care for you is either in jail or homeless and feeding a crack cocaine addiction instead of you? Or being 16 years old and only in the 6th grade? How about being the same kid facing all of the above? We can, because this youth walked through the doors of Miami Bridge. In a short period of time, he captured the hearts of the entire Miami Bridge staff. After two long years, via both residential and non-residential care, including mentoring, intensive case management, and therapeutic support by the entire staff, this young man has overcome many of those obstacles and is soon to begin a new start at a special military academy.  His current desire in life? "To return to the Bridge in my uniform so I can show Dr. Dorcas and all my Aunties there that I really made something of myself.”

Each year, Miami Bridge provides emergency shelter for 500+ youth, and in-home counseling services for 500+ children and their families in this community. Only with your help can we continue to take care of the most vulnerable children and teens in Miami-Dade County. Your recurring donation, not only qualifies you to be a Miami Bridge Ambassador, but assures you are providing services for a homeless, runaway, truant, ungovernable, sexually trafficked or locked-out youth.

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Come One, Come All to the Miami Bridge 2nd Annual Luncheon! Join us at the Rusty Pelican Miami as we celebrate our youth and our community. We will have a delicious lunch, performances by some of our very talented youth and an award or two. Take advantage of our Early Bird ticket prices valid through Saturday, September 15th. We can't wait to celebrate with you! Go above and beyond for Miami Bridge by sponsoring our annual luncheon! We are actively seeking sponsorship, click the link below to learn more.

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31ST ANNUAL MIAMI PHYSICIANS FISHING TOURNAMENT

It was a pleasure to be a part of the 31 st Annual Miami Physicians Fishing Tournament benefiting Miami Bridge. Our youth and staff got to be a part of one of the most prominent and longest-standing fishing tournament weekends in South Florida. Our Bridge kids reeled in the fun at the children's fishing competition, with fishing pros and staff members there to help the kids and teens as they baited hooks and reeled in their big catches!   This year's tournament attracted more than 200 guests, including prominent community physicians, leaders and professionals from across South Florida. The event was hosted at the beautiful and exclusive Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, featuring a weekend of family-friendly activities. A big thank you to everyone at the Miami Physicians Fishing Tournament for opening their hearts to the Miami Bridge mission. The funds raised by the fishing weekend will help promote positive youth development and strengthen and support families through our emergency shelter program and non-residential community behavioral services.

MIAMI BRIDGE ANNOUNCES 2018 EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR Congratulations to the recipient of the Employee of the Year Award for 2018, Brian Nereus! We applaud you for your hard work and dedication to the M iami Bridge mission! Miami Bridge's Employee of the Year is annually awarded to one member of our team who consistently embodies an overall spirit of excellence. Nine of Miami Bridge’s team members were honored at our annual Summer BBQ for their outstanding hard work and dedication to the Miami Bridge mission. Honorees included, Tracy Scott, RN , Lashonda Chavis , Antoinette Graham, Taryn Lightbourne , D’Mychal Norwood, Kanisha Williams , and Richard Rabathaly . We would also like to congratulate Employee of the Year runner-up, Nicole Cardenas , for her exceptional contribution in the eight months she has been on-board.

GETTING BENDY AT MINDFUL HOUR Mindful Hour at Miami Bridge allows our youth to use yoga and meditation as an emotional outlet. Instructors from the Little Lighthouse Foundation teach yoga as both an exercise and wellness tool for our youth to use when they are feeling overwhelmed by their personal traumas. Check out some of our yogis perfecting their eagle poses.

NIKE VISITS THE MIAMI BRIDGE HOMESTEAD CAMPUS The Nike Factory Stores team stopped by our Homestead campus to help get our youth motivated to succeed on and off the court! It all starts with teamwork. Our youth enjoyed getting to know the team over a friendly basketball game. Once again, thank you to the Nike Factory Stores for investing in Miami Bridge's success through their basketball court donation!

Our Bridge kids were able to spend a creative and memorable afternoon on Make Music Miami Day thanks to TMG, Inc. Miami Bridge youth got to express their lyrical side and take part in a music workshop with the group, as well as perform on their own. Thanks for the special treat, TMG!  Uber 's day of coding allowed our youth to learn about and advance in a technology skill they might have never come across on their own. Thank you, Uber Miami for giving our Bridge kids the opportunity to try something new and learn that they can be coders too!

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