Celebracion de Abuelos (Akerman)

Greater Miami's senior citizens, many of whom live on limited fixed incomes, can benefit from cost-savings measures that make their homes more affordable. These include: (1) resolving accessibility issues (such as the installation of ADA ramps for wheelchairs); (2) addressing energy-efficiency upgrades (e.g. replacement of traditional lightbulbs, high-flow toilets & showerheads with more efficient models); (3) installing fruit & vegetable gardens for fresh, affordable produce at home; and (4) landscaping the homes with trees that produce shade, saving on cooling costs. The ABUELOS Foundation (aka Grandparents Foundation) has been formed by Miami leaders with extensive construction/renovation/sustainability experience to ably assist seniors with these important activities that they themselves cannot afford to undertake. The organization has selected Miami's Shenandoah neighborhood (located immediately south of Calle Ocho, or SW 8th Street) in Little Havana to launch its inaugural event, Celebracion de Abuelos (aka Celebration of Grandparents). This will take place on Saturday, March 5, 2016, and will include a series of improvements to 3 homes on a block in the neighborhood. Applications for the homes (via nomination or self-nomination) are presently being collected, via the local voluntary, neighborhood & merchants associations & through the City of Miami. Our organization has secured donations of energy-efficiency items & funds via Miami City Commissioner Francis Suarez's Poverty Initiative Funds, Miami-Dade County's Sustainability Office, the Home Depot Foundation, and others. All funds & donations secured to-date will be used for the renovation projects themselves, which will be performed during the first week of March, concluding on Saturday, March 5th. The funds sought from the Awesome Foundation would be designated for a celebratory portion of the program, intended to allow the seniors to engage with the multi-generational corps of volunteers.

Financiado pelo capítulo Miami, FL (December 2015)