When the then-new President and CEO of Amigos for Kids, Karina Pavone, walked into the office in 2020 holding an envelope from The Leesfield Family Foundation, she was stunned.
“It [the contribution] came at a time when we really needed the support,” Pavone, who joined the organization in January 2020, said. “We always need the support but it was extremely needed during the pandemic.”
At that time, she said, Amigos for Kids, an organization that started in 1991 to provide services for children and parents in South Florida, was overrun with families in need. As a result of COVID-19, frontline workers and those in hospitality were greatly affected causing an “alarming” rate of food and housing insecurity. With the worry of figuring out how to fund rent assistance and families’ electricity and grocery bills, the annual contribution was not only a welcomed surprise for Pavone but also a saving grace. When she asked her team about it, she said, they simply nodded along and explained that The Foundation was among some of the organization’s regular donors.
With the timing of the annual contribution, Pavone said that they mostly put it toward back-to-school efforts like their Blue Backpack Project or the annual holiday toy drive. For many families, this contribution supplies the “only gifts” many of the children will be gifted for the holidays and ensures they get back to school with the proper tools to succeed.
“There is no reason why there should be any child that goes back to school without the proper supplies to set them up for success and we see that as our calling and supporters like Mr. Leesfield help us to do that,” Pavone said.
‘It is the right thing to do.’
Amigos for Kids is not the only child-centered organization under The Leesfield Family Foundation umbrella. Others include The Overtown Youth Center, a 20-year-old initiative creating programs for over 5,000 youths and their families and serving approximately 1,800 households in South Florida, and Live Like Bella, a foundation focused on eradicating childhood cancer and supporting families affected by the disease.
Of the relationship with Live Like Bella and The Foundation, LLB CEO Nicole Lara Puente said it began with Mr. Leesfield coming through their door stating he wanted “to help.”
“He is a great connector for people with the best interest of the community in mind,” De Lara Puente said. “That’s the kind of person he is. He does it because it is the right thing to do.”
It is this strong desire to help those in need that has kept Mr. Leesfield searching for ways to support local organizations and get involved in their initiatives over the years.
It began in 1990 when he and his family launched The Leesfield Family Foundation intending to focus on women’s and children’s initiatives as an homage to the help he received from his community as a child raised by a single mother. In its 34 years, The Foundation has donated millions to various organizations geared toward serving children and their well-being in Miami-Dade County and nationally. Through support from Leesfield & Partners, one of Florida’s top personal injury law firms for over four decades, The Foundation has made an indelible impact on communities all over the United States and abroad. From disaster relief following hurricanes to the continued support of World Central Kitchen feeding war-torn Ukraine and the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, The Foundation has been there to pledge its support for them all.
‘I began to pay that generosity back.’
His ineluctable need to pass on the kindness and good fortune he has received comes from his childhood. Mr. Leesfield said in a previous interview with Lifestyles Magazine.
“I have a deep feeling of gratitude for what was done for me, and as soon as I could, I began to pay that generosity back,” Mr. Leesfield said.
As promised in The Foundation motto, generosity, warmth and reassurance are felt by all who encounter The Leesfield Family Foundation and its three chairs, Ira, Cynthia and Jennifer Leesfield. This motto was created to mimic those who helped Mr. Leesfield throughout high school and college as he went through law school to become a burgeoning young attorney. Mr. Leesfield served on the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse and in June received the 2024 Leader Award from The Fatherhood Task Force of South Florida, an organization dedicated to promoting fathers’ roles in their children’s lives.
The Task Force has had the backing of The Foundation since its beginning and its President and CEO, Holly Zwerling had this to say about working with Mr. Leesfield:
“It’s like a family benign supported by The Leesfield Family Foundation.”
