Schools Joint Service-Learning Project Collects Hundreds of Shoes for Children in Haiti
MEDIA - PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
Miami, December 3, 2009 - A service mission involving students from both Miami Dade College and Miami Dade County Public Schools will bring sole relief to hundreds of disadvantaged children in Haiti. Beginning at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow, Friday, Dec. 4, 2009, more than 300 pairs of artistically decorated shoes will be donated to Food For The Poor (FFTP), a South Florida-based international relief and development organization.
This dutiful service-learning project joins students from MDC professor Carolina Lorenzo-Romeu’s humanities course at the West Campus with art students from Beth Goldstein’s class at Miami Central Senior High. Service-learning is a relatively new concept in education, but one that has many educational and social benefits, including scholarships, career direction, and recognition from community partners and President Obama, who supports the concept.
According to MDC President, Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón, the College has developed one of the largest and most successful service-learning programs in the nation.
MDC’s faculty guide defines service-learning as, “…the process of integrating volunteer community service combined with active guided reflection into the curriculum to enhance and enrich student learning of course material.”
“The collaborative effort allowed college students to become involved in America’s inner-city educational system and to create art for children in Haiti,” said Lorenzo-Romeu. “As members of South Florida’s richly diverse community, it is important for the students to see the subjects of art and humanities beyond theory and to see it applied in daily life.”
In October, MDC students participated in FFTP’s “All-Nighter for the Poor” and raised more than $20,000 to build three tilapia farms, creating a sustainable food source for the people of Haiti.
WHAT: Photo Opportunity-Schools Joint Service-Learning Project Collects Hundreds of Shoes for Haiti’s Children
WHEN: Friday, Dec. 4, 2009,1:30 p.m.
WHERE: Food For The Poor Headquarters, 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, 33073
For more information about Food For The Poor, visit http://www.foodforthepoor.org.
Media-only contacts:
Juan Mendieta, 305-237-7611, jmendiet@mdc.edu, MDC communications director
Tarnell Carroll, 305-237-3359, tcarroll@mdc.edu, Media Specialist
Sue Arrowsmith, 305-237-3710, sue.arrowsmith@mdc.edu, media specialist
Alejandro Rios, 305-237-7482, arios1@mdc.edu