The Leesfield Family Foundation is proud to support several local organizations during 2025 Give Miami Day.
The Foundation’s contributions during the online fundraiser include Baptist Health, Friends of The Underline, Amigos for Kids, the Overtown Youth Center and more.
Give Miami Day began in 2011 to encourage essential contributions to organizations across South Florida that provide services for those in need. To date, the online giving event, which has grown to be one of the largest of its kind in the Southeast United States, has raised more than $100 million for local services.
Along with Give Miami Day, The Leesfield Family Foundation is donating to Monroe County organizations aiming to provide meals, shelter and other essentials to individuals and families this November in Key West, where Leesfield & Partners has an office on historic Whitehead Street. The Foundation is also contributing to several food banks in New Jersey during the holiday season.
For The Foundation, which also funds scholarships and contributes to disaster aid relief year-round, Give Miami Day is a reflection of its motto — generosity, warmth and reassurance.
The generosity regularly shown by Foundation Chair Ira Leesfield comes from the help he received as a young student to continue his education.
“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.
About the Overtown Youth Center:
The Overtown Youth Center has provided educational, recreational, and developmental support to young people and children for over 20 years in South Florida. As part of the organization’s goal to empower the youth through educational programs, OYC also provides mentorship opportunities, life skills development and leadership training.
For more information about the Overtown Youth Center and its programs, please visit: https://oycmiami.org/.
About Friends of The Underline:
Meg Daly started Friends of The Underline after walking beneath the previously unused land beneath Miami-Dade County’s Metrorail system. Today, over a decade later, the space has been transformed into a trail for bikers, runners and walkers alike as well as community gathering spaces. The Underline’s work is outlined in three phases. Phase two, named the “Hammock Trail,” is in progress and covers over two miles connecting Southwest 13th St. to Southwest 19th Ave. Work on phase three of the project is expected to begin in 2025. The Underline relies completely on private funds, sponsorships and grants.
The Friends of The Underline Sneaker Ball, the organization’s first gala fundraiser, took place in September and The Leesfield Family Foundation Chairs Ira and Cynthia Leesfield were on the event’s host committee. In March 2023, Mr. Leesfield was elected to its Board of Directors.
For more information about Friends of The Underline, please visit: https://www.theunderline.org/
About Amigos for Kids:
Amigos for Kids got its start in 1991 to provide services for children and parents in South Florida such as after-school care, parent education and community resources. Since then, the organization has helped provide essential services to countless families and has spread child abuse prevention and awareness throughout the country.
For more information about Amigos for Kids, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Fatherhood-Task-Force-of-South-FloridaFTFSF-100064482498224/
About Live Like Bella:
Live Like Bella Childhood Cancer Foundation is an organization dedicated to providing funding for pediatric cancer research in addition to supplying essential services to families affected by childhood cancer. It is named for Bella Rodriguez-Torres, a little girl who died in 2013 after a diagnosis of Stage Four Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma.
Live Like Bella was started by her family after her death to promote her good-natured and jovial spirit and help families just like theirs who have suffered because of this disease.
As part of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Live Like Bella hosted “Bella’s Ball,” the organization’s annual charity gala, in which The Leesfield Family Foundation and Leesfield & Partners were the event’s Special Awards Sponsors honoring family and community members who have supported brave children battling cancer.
“He [Mr. Leesfield] is a great connector for people with the best interest of the community in mind,” said Live Like Bella CEO, Nicole de Lara Puente, of The Foundation’s impact. “That’s the kind of person he is. He does it because it is the right thing to do.”
For more information about Live Like Bella, please visit: https://livelikebella.org/
About The YES Institute:
Since the 90s, the YES Institute has provided essential services and a sense of belonging for LGBTQIA+ youth in South Florida. The organization began as Project YES and was created by Connie Barden and Martha Fugate to provide services to LGBTQIA+ youth in a bid to prevent suicide and self-harm. Numerous studies have shown that, historically, LGBTQIA+ youth are at a greater risk of dying by suicide or engaging in self-harm than their straight and cisgender peers. The Centers for Disease Control released a 2021 survey that showed that 26.3% of LGB high school respondents attempted suicide in the last year compared to 5.2% of straight high school respondents. The organization aims to create safe spaces in which young people feel that they belong despite gender or sexual orientation.
For more information about Live Like Bella, please visit: https://yesinstitute.org/
About Baptist Health:
The Leesfield Family Foundation will honor the life and extraordinary legacy of Dr. Michael Zinner on Give Miami Day via a donation to the Baptist Health Foundation, which funds necessary medical research, clinical trials, and scholarships for future medical professionals. Dr. Zinner’s positive impact on the lives of his patients, friends, colleagues and family cannot be measured and he will be missed dearly. The Leesfield Family makes this contribution in tribute to Dr. Zinner.
For more information about The Baptist Health Foundation, please visit: https://baptisthealth.net/baptist-health-foundation
For more information about The Leesfield Family Foundation, please visit: www.LeesfieldFamilyFoundation.org.
