MIAMI – The Miami HEAT hosted an end-of-year celebration for 372 HEAT Academy students at AmericanAirlines Arena. Media was invited to the press portion of the event.
The afternoon was a carnival-style event with food, fun, and excitement. During the festivities, Carnival Corporation & plc and Carnival Foundation presented a check in the amount of $165,000 to the Florida Prepaid College Foundation for scholarships benefiting HEAT Academy students. Fifteen fifth-grade HEAT Academy students who go on to participate in the Carnival Scholarship and Mentoring program will become eligible for a scholarship, which matures in 2023, the fifth-grade class’ expected graduating year. This marks the 14th consecutive year that Carnival has funded the scholarships, and during this time the company has purchased 210 scholarships with a total value of more than $2.5 million.
HEAT Players Goran Dragić and Josh Richardson and HEAT Legend Alonzo Mourning were also in attendance. Scheduled activities included performances by the HEAT Dancers, Burnie, and the Xtreme Team. Lunch was provided by Papa John’s, Pepsi and Gatorade. The XFINITY East Plaza was also transformed into a HEAT Fun Zone with inflatables, games, face painting, popcorn, cotton candy and more.
The Carnival Scholarships, developed in collaboration with the Florida Prepaid College Foundation, enable 15 students who are currently enrolled in HEAT Academy and go on to participate in the Carnival Scholarship and Mentoring Program to be eligible for a four-year tuition scholarship to an accredited Florida college or university of their choice upon graduating high school. Florida Prepaid College Foundation provides a matching donation to fund these scholarships. In April, the seventh HEAT Academy / Carnival Scholarship and Mentoring Program graduating class was awarded 15 Carnival Scholarships. Carnival has presented 106 students with scholarships over the past seven years.
The following executives were also in attendance for the event:
The HEAT Group, Eric Woolworth, President, Business Operations
Carnival Foundation, Linda Coll, Executive Director
Florida Blue, Martha de la Pena Rojas, South Florida Market Senior Manager of Market Development and Community Relations
C1 Bank, Debbie Tyler, Senior Vice President, Senior Client Manager
HEAT PA Announcer Michael Baiamonte served as the emcee.
HEAT Academy, an after school program that provides elementary school students with extra exposure to academics, particularly math, reading, writing, and science, is the flagship community initiative of the Miami HEAT. Celebrating its 17th year of existence, HEAT Academy, presented by Carnival Foundation, has been implemented at three local inner city schools: Paul Laurence Dunbar K-8 Center, Jesse J. McCrary Jr. Elementary and Riverside Elementary. In addition to a curriculum geared for success on the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) exam, students receive assistance with homework, have a safe place to be when their parents are not available, and learn from positive role models who inspire kids to excel. HEAT staffers volunteer their time throughout the year to assist HEAT Academy students. Additional sponsors of HEAT Academy include Florida Blue, C1 Bank and the Florida Prepaid College Board.