Champion the cause

You care about your community’s future and you want to make a difference. When you reach out to members of Congress on issues in education, income and health, or wear your t-shirt, you’re showing you LIVE UNITED. 

Learn about these issues, then champion the cause. Speak up. Be loud. Be public.

Support the reauthorization of The Children's Trust

Vote "YES" on August 26

Make your vote count on Tuesday August 26, 2008. You can learn how to register by visiting the Miami-Dade Elections website. If you cannot vote on August 26, vote early between August 11 and August 24 or by absentee ballot . Get more information by clicking here.

The Children’s Trust is a dedicated source of funding for the children of Miami-Dade County. It raises about $100 million per year through a property tax of one half mil per $1,000 of assessed value. It costs the median-assessed-value homeowner $61 a year.  Half of those dollars are dedicated to early intervention and prevention programs for young children (prenatal-to-age 5 years), the other half for children ages 6 through 18 (and through age 21 for special-needs young people).

The Children’s Trust and United Way are community partners in improving the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County.

A Message from Dave Lawrence, Chairman of The Children's Trust

This Aug. 26 The Children’s Trust will come before the citizens of Miami-Dade County for reauthorization through a voter referendum. Lose this, and it would be a long time before we could try again. How sad for children. How sad for our community.

Back in 2002, we passed The Children’s Trust, telling voters that they would have another chance after five years of operation to decide if they wanted this to be in perpetuity (just as it is in Broward and Palm Beach and other Florida counties).

Some examples of how The Children’s Trust makes a difference: School health teams already available in a hundred public schools, and another 50 coming this August…more than 40,000 children receiving higher-quality after-school and summer camp experiences…an investment of millions of dollars in higher-quality, more educationally stimulating child care…a major commitment to special-needs children…programs to reduce violence in our community…and much more. You can get more details at http://www.thechildrenstrust.org/.

There are many ways to help with this important campaign, and here’s How You Can Help. We have a wonderful story to tell, but it is up to voters to decide.

Thanks for caring. The very future of our community is in everyone’s hands, and everyone’s family.

Sincerely,
David Lawrence Jr.
Chairman
The Children’s Trust