The afterschool program Breakthrough Miami recently received $2 million from billionaire Kenneth Griffin's philanthropic and civic engagement initiative.
The education program’s mission is to build and strengthen student leadership. It achieves that through a students-teaching-students model. Mentors grow as leaders, and their mentees have someone they can trust.
“There are few places where a 14- or 15-year-old can begin a structured leadership journey that can continue through high school and college, gaining thousands of hours of real teaching, mentoring and workforce experience,” said CEO of Breakthrough Miami Lori-Ann Cox in a statement. “Griffin Catalyst’s support allows us to scale this unmatched youth leadership pathway.”
Griffin’s donation is expected to support more than 600 high school and college students each year. The funding will also help expand instructional coaching, recruitment and program capacity. Plus, it’ll help increase the number of paid teaching apprenticeships and fellowships across South Florida.
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“Breakthrough Miami has a profound impact on the lives of Miami students by teaching them the leadership and learning skills they need to pursue their dreams and aspirations,” said Ken Griffin, an entrepreneur who founded multinational hedge fund Citadel, in a statement. “I care deeply about the lives of young people, and I am excited to know that my support of Breakthrough Miami will make a meaningful difference in our community.”
With Griffin's gift, Breakthrough Miami will also be able to conduct more evaluation and research aimed at testing the impact of its model, which is nationally recognized as one of the country’s top service leadership experiences.
Currently, the program serves 1,800 youth from more than 320 schools across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. But it's not stopping there — Breakthrough Miami is hoping to expand its reach by 40% by 2030.
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