community recap

Miami HEAT

The Miami HEAT hosted its 32nd Annual HEAT Thanksgiving Celebration, presented by Florida Blue at the Miami Rescue Mission. The HEAT Group, in collaboration with the Caring Place @ Miami Rescue Mission, Inc., tipped-off the Thanksgiving holiday with a block-party to help distribute approximately 600 Thanksgiving baskets to underserved families and provide hot meals to 450 residents of the Miami Rescue Mission, an organization that provides various services to the homeless and those in need throughout Miami-Dade County.

Families were pre-selected by local government and community-based organizations to receive an entire Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings from the HEAT, courtesy of Florida Blue. Publix and Florida Blue provided frozen turkeys, while canned goods, side items, and beverages were donated by Ryan Tax, Goya Foods, Bally Sports, One Sotheby’s International Realty, and Pepsi.

In addition, Papa John’s Pizza also provided free pizza vouchers, Takis and Café Bustelo were also on hand to share samples with guests in attendance, and Levy Cares, the charitable foundation of Levy Restaurants and the catering division of the Kaseya Center, provided hot meals to the residents of the Miami Rescue Mission.

This year's celebration continued to broaden its impact beyond the Overtown/Wynwood area, reaching communities in need, such as Little Havana, Little Haiti, Liberty City, Kendall, Homestead, and as far north as Lauderdale Lakes. Additional beneficiaries include Feeding South Florida, Curley’s House of Style Hope Relief Food Bank, SafeSpace, Salvation Army, Amigos for Kids, The Migrant Education Program at Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Volunteers of America, and many more.

This year’s event also fell during the following calendar weeks:

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32nd Annual HEAT Thanksgiving Celebration

As part of its Hispanic Heritage efforts for the 2023-24 season, the Miami HEAT supported migrant families in need. Working with the Title I Migrant Education Program of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the HEAT helped raise funds and resources that will help provide wrap-around services for migratory students and families to ensure they have the same quality of life and education as their peers. These funds can be directed to www.HEAT.com/HispanicHeritage, which will direct all patrons to the main donation landing page. Fans are also encouraged to shop the exclusive “Mi Gente” line of Hispanic Heritage inspired apparel from Court Culture, the official in-house apparel brand of the Miami HEAT, where a portion of the profits will be benefiting these families as well.

This effort consisted of delivery of goods to these families, and an assembly of furniture and home goods at the Kaseya Center alongside volunteers from Florida blue and HEAT player, Jaime Jaquez, Jr. Other supplies provided consisted of funds to cover school supplies, clothing, groceries, and more.

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Miami HEAT Hispanic Heritage Celebration 2023-24

As part of the NBA Finals presented by YouTube TV, the NBA and the Miami HEAT partnered with the Miami Rescue Mission and CARE Elementary to help address food insecurity. This initiative builds on the Miami HEAT’s Re-HEAT program, which provides unserved food from all HEAT home games and arena events to local homeless shelters.

During the event, the NBA and Miami HEAT also dedicated a refurbished kitchen and eating area named the Miami HEAT Food Court and announced seed funding to create the HEAT Emergency Food Relief Fund, which will provide ongoing support for students and families at CARE Elementary.&nbsp; &nbsp;Members of the NBA family and Miami HEAT organization hosted a tip-off ceremony at CARE Elementary, participated in meal packing and activities with youth at CARE Elementary as well as sponsor hot meals to those in need at the Miami Rescue Mission.

Among those in attendance for this event:

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RECAP: Miami HEAT/NBA Cares - NBA Finals Legacy Event

In its ongoing effort to prioritize mental health advocacy and education, the Miami HEAT unveiled its very first HEAT Mindfulness Sanctuary presented by Florida Blue at Miami Carol City Senior High School in Miami Gardens during Mental Health Awareness Month in May 2023. The sanctuary will now serve as a safe space where students and teachers will be able to find respite from the daily stressors of home and school and retreat to a haven which brings the outdoors indoor and immerses the senses with the sights, sound and tactile feel of nature in a calming and welcoming environment. The room is outfitted with wall graphics depicting nature scenes, artificial grass turf, a sound system for relaxation, an aromatherapy diffuser, a water feature, yoga mats, seating cushions, zen sand gardens, coloring supplies, tablets for art therapy and other resources donated by Ryan Tax that will help provide an escape and contribute to one’s mental wellness.

The HEAT Mindfulness Sanctuary serves to fortify its existing support of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, students and faculty from its 2021 commitment to establish the Miami HEAT Mindfulness Champions Initiative&nbsp;which has trained and provided resources to 354 teachers each year in mindfulness and mental health education, one for every K-12 public school in the 3rd largest school district in the country, so they can in turn educate students and other faculty at their respective schools.

Miami Carol City Senior High School is a 9th -12th grade Title I School. Although academics is at the forefront, due to the large number of economically-disadvantaged students and families within Miami Gardens that are served, there is a large number of students that struggle emotionally and mentally. Counselors, social workers, and mental health therapists are on-site to provide much-needed wrap-around services for these students and community.

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HEAT Mindfulness Sanctuary Unveiling

In celebration of the upcoming Jonas Brothers concert at Kaseya Center, 25 first-generation college bound students from Homestead Senior High School were surprised at Waffle House to congratulate them for their academic achievements and acceptance to college. To commemorate their accomplishments, each student was treated to breakfast, received tickets to the upcoming Jonas Brothers concert at Kaseya Center, and were gifted a HEAT Court Culture Book Bag with additional merchandise to help equip them for college and beyond.

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Jonas Brothers Show Announcement at Waffle House

On Sunday, April 16th the Miami HEAT took part in this year’s Miami Beach Pride Parade to celebrate diversity & inclusion. Miami Beach Pride Parade is part of the weeklong celebration that brings together members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, their friends, allies, and supporters in celebration of the unique spirit and culture of the LGBTQ community. Over 100 HEAT and American Airlines staff and guests participated in this year’s Miami Beach PRIDE Parade.

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2023 Miami Beach Pride Parade

BankUnited and The Miami HEAT Charitable Fund offer $25,000 annually in scholarship funds to high school seniors attending Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe or Palm Beach schools. &nbsp;This is the 27th year that the Miami HEAT has offered scholarships. Scholarships are awarded based on academic performance and outstanding community service. Scholarships include the following:

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2023 HEAT Scholarship Winners Presented by BankUnited and the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund

For the 21st consecutive year, the Miami HEAT, Carnival Foundation, Carnival Cruise Line, its parent company Carnival Corporation and Florida Prepaid College Foundation will award 16 Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) students with 4-Year Florida College Plan scholarships.

The scholarships are being presented to former students of the HEAT Academy, an after-school enrichment program for at-risk youth, who currently participate in an innovative workplace mentoring program sponsored by Carnival, the Miami HEAT and in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami. Recipients were selected based on academic performance, leadership skills, community involvement and interviews with representatives from the three participating organizations. Each student is also receiving a personal laptop computer courtesy of Carnival Foundation and Dell.

This is the 14th year the Carnival Foundation has presented these fully prepaid scholarships to college bound high school seniors. In total, more than 211 students have earned the benefits of over $4 million in awards.