Twice a year, The Children’s Trust's extensive provider network comes together to learn, network and listen to the current state of affairs of The Trust and its initiatives, and, even more importantly, to look to how to do things better in the future. On May 1, The Trust held its first Semi-Annual Provider Meeting of the year at Miami Dade College (MDC) Wolfson Campus and more than 420 individuals packed into an auditorium to assess the impact and importance of the work currently being done.
Trust President and CEO James R. Haj kicked off the meeting thanking the mostly-provider audience for the work they are doing “moving the needle’ for children and families of the community. Haj lauded the work of Trust staff but acknowledged that the impact they have on the community is in large part a result of the direct contact providers have with children and families.
MDC President Madeline Pumariega delivered an inspiring keynote address at the meeting that lauded the work of The Trust and its providers who deliver resources and services to those who need it most. “The work you do is so important,” she told providers. “I can’t imagine where our community would be without all of your organizations and the work you do supporting the youngest and most vulnerable among us.”
Pumariega highlighted the critical importance of education in getting youth ready for their adult lives. “Don’t be fooled by those that say traditional education (is not as important as it used to be). It is still the most important pathway to development,“ she said.
The college president also likened the work her university does to what Trust providers do. “At MDC we are in the business of growing people, not weeding them out. We get to say ‘yes’ to every single person who comes here and most of you get to say ‘yes’ (also). It’s only by investing in the most vulnerable will we be able to be a world-class community.”
Also at the meeting, Jane Gilbert, the county’s first Chief Heat Officer, announced to the audience that May 1 was the official launch of Heat Season, which runs until Oct. 31. “Any day (within Heat Season) we can reach temperatures that can be dangerous if we are not taking the necessary precautions,” Gilbert said, adding that extreme heat was the number one weather-related cause of death in the United States with over 11,000 deaths a year.
Gilbert told providers that the county would be offering extreme heat safety training on May 28, and that more information and resources were available through the county.
During the meeting, several Trust departments took turns informing providers of new developments in training, budgets and accounting, communications and eventually broke into specific workshop breakout sessions with more information and resources provided.