The Underline – Leesfield Family Foundation

‘It’s like a family:’ How one foundation aims to bring South Florida charitable organizations together for a single cause – to help those in need

LFF — Thu, 27 Jun 2024 17:34:42 +0000

In the tight-knit charitable community of South Florida, the name Leesfield can be attributed to words like “family” and “support.”
At least, that’s how Holly Zwerling with the Fatherhood Task Force of South Florida, one of many organizations contributed to by The Leesfield Family Foundation, sees it.
“We can see the connections they [The Leesfield Family Foundation] have made with other non-profits that we work with,” Zwerling said. “It feels like a family being supported by the Leesfield Family Foundation.”
The Fatherhood Task Force, which began in 2010, has been supporting the roles of fathers as primary parents within the South Florida community for 11 years by hosting its Fathers in Education Day and Fathers in Action and Advocacy Week with Miami-Dade County Public Schools. These programs and others put on by the Task Force, Zwerling said, promote the action of male role models in the lives of children and The Leesfield Family Foundation was there “from the very beginning.”
When asked what makes the contribution from The Foundation so unique, Zwerling had several points to go off of. What stood out most in over a decade of support, however, is the use of the Leesfield & Partners digital sign – which sits outside the office on prime real estate reaching thousands of commuters daily on U.S. 1. The second point, she said, was their combined desire to reach a common goal.
“Ira has shared his personal story of being a father and having father figures in his life that have helped him achieve his hopes and dreams of going to school,” Zwerling said of The Foundation’s Chair, Ira Leesfield. “It’s not just your own father but the men in your life who can impact you in a positive way. Young men need to have those mentors.”
For the fathers Zwerling works with, Mr. Leesfield has served as a source of inspiration and a role model. In June, he was honored with the Fatherhood Task Force of South Florida 2024 Leader Award.
“Sometimes, you get help that lasts one year, or two, but The Leesfield Family Foundation has been a consistent supporter of our work, and they align with many of our partners,” Zwerling said.
‘I want to help’
Live Like Bella is another organization supported by The Foundation that aims to improve the lives of children, just in a different way. The organization took South Florida by storm with its namesake motto encouraging people to live with the light and positivity of a young girl, Bella Rodriguez-Torres, who died in 2013 from Stage Four Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma. Since it began, the organization’s impact has stretched far beyond state borders. For the people at Live Like Bella, the relationship with The Foundation was an act of kismet, according to CEO Nicole De Lara Puente.
“We have a small office in Coral Gables that was donated to Live Like Bella and he [Mr. Leesfield] showed up one day,” De Lara Puente explained. “He was in the building for another meeting and saw our sign … And walked in the door and said, ‘I want to help.’”
Since that coincidental meeting in 2020, she said, The Foundation has been a part of Live Like Bella’s three main goals – giving financial support to families affected by childhood cancer, helping families cover the funeral costs of a child who succumbs to the disease, and funding the necessary clinical trials and research to help find new treatments. Since 2013, Live Like Bella has provided over $6.5 million in financial assistance for families affected by pediatric cancer in 49 states and 37 countries. About 66 research trials in Florida have been funded by Live Like Bella totaling $37 million for their work with the help of sponsors like The Leesfield Family Foundation.
“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.”
‘Beautiful Testament’
It is in this vein of generosity and philanthropy that the Leesfield Family Foundation became involved with another local organization, this time a little closer to home. The Leesfield & Partners office, located at 2350 South Dixie Highway, is the operating center for The Foundation and sits directly across the street from the Miami-Dade Metrorail system on U.S. 1. This auspicious site has given Mr. Leesfield a front-row seat to the work being done to convert the area beneath the transportation system into a vibrant community gathering space.
Friends of The Underline Chief Development Officer Leana Cianfoni describes Mr. Leesfield’s contributions to their efforts as a catalyst that will hopefully inspire other families in the area to do the same.
“We have had opportunities for companies and individuals … But nothing of this size and scale,” Cianfoni said of the construction of the Leesfield Family Garden which will sit across the street from the law firm on U.S. 1. “Ira was just very invested because he is invested in this city. His career has really evolved from being a top personal injury attorney across the region, and I think he takes pride in having a business for so long and wanting to have a beautiful park across the street.”
Mr. Leesfield’s work with The Underline earned him a spot on its Board of Directors. He and his wife, Cynthia Leesfield, are among the sponsors for the organization’s upcoming event which has been dubbed The Underline Sneaker Ball. The immersive fundraising event will take place in September at Brickell City Centre and tickets can be purchased from The Underline’s website.
Since the beginning of the Sneaker Ball’s conception, Mr. Leesfield has been a part of the planning process and has even offered up his law firm’s Key West office, a beautiful two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom house located on historical Whitehead Street, as an auction item.
It is this level of involvement that sprouted the idea for the family’s upcoming park to honor The Foundation’s unwavering support
“The Leesfield Family Park is a beautiful testament to him giving back and supporting a project he believes in,” Cianfoni said.

Continued Support of Ukraine, Scholarship Opening & The Underline Sneaker Ball: The Latest from The Leesfield Family Foundation

LFF — Tue, 18 Jun 2024 21:27:22 +0000

“Generosity, warmth and reassurance,” are the three pillars upon which The Leesfield Family Foundation has always stood. In 1990, when Chair Ira Leesfield with his wife and daughter, Cynthia and Jennifer Leesfield, launched The Foundation, those three words are ones they employed to describe their mission – to make a positive impact within their community.

Over three decades later and that mission has expanded ten-fold. Today The Leesfield Family Foundation sponsors numerous grants, scholarships and relief efforts within the family’s home base of South Florida and all over the world. The family has been recognized for their efforts and devotion to public service by local and national organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League, the Florida Justice Association and The American Jewish Committee. The Leesfields are also proud to have spent the last 23 years working with and supporting the Clinton Foundation and to continue that work via the Clinton Global Initiative, which aims to identify and take action in areas such as climate resilience, health equity and inclusive economic recovery and growth.

Disaster Relief

Most recently, The Leesfield Family Foundation celebrated its continued support of World Central Kitchen and its efforts to get nutritious meals to families of refugees and troops in Ukraine. Two years after Russia first invaded Ukraine, The Leesfield Family Foundation has helped to feed millions of people whose lives and homes have been uprooted by the conflict.

The Leesfield Family Foundation is proud to continue supporting World Central Kitchen in its efforts to continue feeding families in war-torn Ukraine.

In reporting from The New York Times, it was estimated via radar satellite data that the two-year war has destroyed around 210,000 buildings across an 800-mile stretch from cities like Ukraine, Kharkiv, Mariupol and Kherson. The once full and operational buildings include over 900 hospitals, churches and schools that made up communities now desolate and shattered. The number of felled buildings, according to The Times’s analysis, is more than if every building in Manhattan was destroyed, four times over. The devastation to these cities, once bustling with children off to school and families sitting around a table for dinner, is wrenchingly evident. In addition to The Foundation’s support, the Leesfield family has also pledged to match every contribution it receives dollar-for-dollar to help World Central Kitchen continue its work feeding Ukrainians in need. For more information on how to contribute, please visit www.LeesfieldFamilyFoundation.org.

Ira and Cynthia Leesfield sit on the host committee for The Underline Sneaker Ball which will take place on Sept. 28, 2024.

Local Support

On the home front, The Leesfield Family Foundation continues its support of local organizations such as Live Like Bella, the Fatherhood Task Force, Lotus House, Amigos for Kids as well as many others. “We continue our long-term involvement … as part of our ongoing commitment to improve the quality of Florida life for children and families,” The Leesfield Foundation said in a statement describing almost four decades “of caring” within its South Florida community.

The Underline Sneaker Ball

In March 2023, Friends of The Underline elected Ira Leesfield onto its Board of Directors. In September, The Underline will host its Sneaker Ball, a concept that invites attendees to pair formal attire with a favored pair of tennis shoes, to promote its work on the Underline, a 10-mile linear park below the city’s Metrorail system, a portion of which is located across the street from the Leesfield & Partners office on South Dixie Highway. That land will be transformed into an urban park space and will be named on behalf of the family. Ira and Cynthia Leesfield sit on the host committee for the event which is set to take place on Sept. 28, 2024, at Brickell City Centre.

Attendees are encouraged to lace up their best, “fashion-forward” sneakers for the occasion. Tickets go for $500, each, with sponsorship packages ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. To register for the event, go to https://www.theunderline.org/sneakerball/.

Scholarship Opportunity

Dexter Butler was known in life for his kindness and dedication to mentoring his students at Key West High School. Via a scholarship, The Leesfield Family Foundation aims to keep that legacy going in his name.

Since it began in 1990, the Leesfield Family Foundation has been dedicated to women’s and children’s initiatives, disaster relief and scholarships. The education of The Foundation’s very own, Ira Leesfield, was achieved with the help of scholarships.

“Since I was raised in a culture of scholarships and financial assistance, the Leesfield Family Foundation is a natural outlet for my family to now express its thanks to the less fortunate and those in need,” Leesfield said on The Foundation’s website.

In The Foundation’s tradition of giving back, it is launching another scholarship this time in honor of the late Dexter Butler, a Key West High School teacher and coach who died in March 2024. The $2,500 athletic scholarship will be awarded to a student of exceptional academic standing and will afford Butler’s family the comfort of knowing their son’s legacy of supporting and guiding young students will not be forgotten.

Butler is described as being “full of life” and who seemed to love those around him with a kindness that left an “indelible impact.” Through this scholarship, Butler’s work to support and guide his students will continue.

Grant applications and scholarship requests for 2024 and 2025 are now being accepted. For more information, please visit www.LeesfieldFamilyFoundation.org or email Carmen Marrero at marrero@leesfield.com.