On Thursday, May 5, Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade’s new state-of-the-art South Beach Club, located at 1200 Michigan Ave., Miami Beach, 33139, debuted during a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony. The 11,000-sq.-ft facility will serve approximately 450 children from the local area.
In attendance were current City of Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine as well as former Miami Beach Mayor Matti Herrera Bower, City of Miami Beach City Manager Jimmy Morales, City of Miami Beach Commissioners John Elizabeth Alemán and Michael Grieco and other local dignitaries, Dr. Gene & Gail Gitin, Barry & Barbara Goldin and Mary Ann Portell, of the Fisher Island Philanthropic Fund, and Bank of America Miami-Dade President Gene Schaefer. Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade Board Chair, Peter L. Bermont and President Alex Rodriguez-Roig as well as other BGCMD board members, and supporters also attended the event. Mayor Levine conducted the ribbon cutting to commemorate the opening.
The new Club features a game room, community room/homework room/literacy room, arts & crafts room, technology room, teen center, offices, reception area, and space for a future teaching kitchen for the Club’s culinary program, which is the only space still available for naming rights and funding. The building cost was $2,000,000.
The South Beach Club provides positive programs in the areas of character and leadership development, educational enhancement, career preparation, health and life skills, cultural arts and sports, fitness and recreation. Sports programs offered at the Club include baseball, girls’ softball, intramural soccer and basketball. A summer program, allowing children to learn values such as friendship, honesty and teamwork, will be offered at the South Beach Club in summer 2016