How to Make a Difference in Your South Florida Community Today

It’s a great thing when people want to make a difference in their communities. Whether you live in South Florida or are new to the community, having an interest in its well-being and the lives of the fellow residents can be an amazing experience. It will enrich your life, familiarize you with your community, and connect you to people and ideas that can positively impact your perspective for the rest of your life.

Additionally, helping your community is an opportunity for you to grow as a person, and to better understand how you fit into the world around you. Furthermore, in South Florida, there are many ways you can make a difference in the community. You can shop locally, volunteer your time, donate (clothes, food, or money), become a mentor, etc. The list is endless but find a cause you are passionate about.

For instance, helping the people in the community.

Helping the People in Your Community

Without a doubt, volunteering is a wonderful opportunity to help the people in your community. Volunteers play an integral part in the community. Without volunteers, many of the services and events that we need and enjoy in our communities would not be so readily available. Giving back to the place you call home helps to unite the community and bridge some of the social, economic, and political gaps.

Your South Florida community is made up of many different families; some of whom need support. These families face challenges such as homelessness, poverty, behavioral problems with youth, and family problems such as; single-parent homes, parenting issues, child neglect, and abuse. Reaching out and volunteering your time and resources (food, clothes, money) to community organizations and/or services geared towards helping those in situations such as these go a long way to making a difference in their lives.

An organization that’s spearheading the cause of bettering the lives of South Florida families and youth is Be Strong International. Be Strong is a non-profit organization which provides services and resources to build healthy parent-child relationships and go from brokenness to wholeness.

Let’s talk about the broken families in South Florida communities and how you can make a difference in their lives.

From Brokenness to Wholeness

Volunteering provides a great way to get to know your community and its citizens. Additionally, it will help you to better understand the circumstances of other members of your community. Having a broad, open-minded perspective of the different walks of life around you will help you to be an effective and empathetic citizen.

There are people and youth in South Florida who come from broken families –– divorced parents, single parents. This is a social issue that has too often been ignored in the communities and unfortunately creates generational patterns. Parents and children of broken families often experience financial and economic hardships, mental health issues, lack of educational resources, marital issues, etc.

According to a report by the Heritage Foundation, broken families tend to earn less and experience lower levels of educational achievement. Consequently, they pass the prospect of meager incomes and family instability on to their children, ensuring a continuing if not expanding cycle of economic distress. Fortunately, the federal government and states and local communities can play important roles in changing this culture to ensure that all children reach their full income potential.

This is where you can begin to make a difference. Donating your time to support those around you is extremely beneficial, both for you and your community. It has been statistically proven that people who volunteer regularly are healthier both physically and mentally.

Helping organizations within your community that support these broken families –– becoming a mentor, volunteering your time, donating money, food, and clothes –– can change the economic trajectory and future of these families. Going from brokenness to wholeness.

Be Strong International

There are so many important causes out there that always need volunteers to support the work they’re doing. As mentioned previously, Be Strong International is a non-profit organization that’s on mission to help South Florida parents and youth go from brokenness to wholeness –– And you can be a part of it.

Be Strong offers resources to help parents and youth develop and maintain healthy relationships with each other and with those they interact with outside the family. They have Parent education programs and marriage workshops for couples. Teens and adolescents can participate in fun groups that focus on character development, healthy peer relationships, and other topics of concern.

Be Strong has served 230,000 South Florida community members, students, and parents, including:

5,175 parents trained annually on healthy communication
7,684 middle and high school students taught in 2020/2021
5,000 families fed through the Be Strong & Project P.E.A.C.E monthly food drive

Be Strong’s holistic educational services follow the principles established by education pioneer Maria Montessori, who believed that learning is affected by emotions and social relationships. Students learn most effectively when their whole self is considered – from their physical health to their emotional stability. A child who’s hungry or whose home life is unstable cannot learn as effectively as one whose basic needs are being met. They must also trust their teacher. It’s this holistic perspective that is the foundation of Be Strong’s programs.

Be Strong’s programs include:

Project H.O.P.E.

Most teens and young adults want to make the right choice when faced with temptations like drugs and risky sexual behavior, but they don’t know how. Project H.O.P.E. is an interactive workshop that helps them make the right decisions. Middle and high school students learn to make informed decisions about healthy relationships, character development, careers, and financial literacy. The program uses real-life situations to better prepare participants for facing them when they come up.

Marriage Matters

It really is possible to have an easy marriage if both partners respect each other and communicate in a healthy, positive manner. Marriage Matters helps couples learn to do just that with relationship counseling and marriage seminars that aim to resolve or prevent marriage problems. Marriage is about giving to each other. When couples focus on this principle, all other aspects tend to emerge or improve marriage relationships.

Raising the B.A.R. Parenting Alliance

Raising the B.A.R. is a parenting education program for caregivers that teaches evidence-based strategies for raising happy, healthy children. It’s offered through The Children’s Trust, which supports programs that improve the lives of children and families. The program helps families develop and maintain healthy relationships. Topics include:

Positive Parenting
Raising Confident, Competent Children;
Raising Resilient Children;
Raising Responsible Teenagers;
Raising Competent Teenagers,
and Getting Teenagers Connected.

How You Can Help Be Strong

Here’s how you can help Be Strong and make a difference in your South Florida community. Be Strong has two great ways you can help bring South Florida families from brokenness to wholeness:

Donate

Help Be Strong reach its goal of raising $300,000 in its 30th year. Click here to make a one-time or recurring gift.

Volunteer

Even if you only donate a few hours of time each month, you will be making a huge difference in the lives of your community members who are in need. Click here to Volunteer!

Volunteers are needed to: