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).

Two quick and important facts: (1) The Children’s Trust invests $100 million or more a year for early intervention and prevention. (2) It costs the median-assessed-value homeowner $61 a year. Truly affordable. A brief summary of background facts is available here in English, Spanish or Creole.

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 www.thechildrenstrust.org.

To have a successful campaign, a political action committee has been formed, and money is being raised. We are off to a very strong start. But I would make the further point that, yes, the number of dollars raised will be significant, but so will the number of contributions, at any level, coming from as many people as possible. I write you in that spirit. Take a look at how to Make a Contribution and thanks for whatever you can do.

There are other 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