In his early years, Leesfield & Partners’ Founder and Managing Partner, Ira Leesfield, helped his family by pedaling away on his paper route or by working in restaurants. Today, the successful personal injury lawyer looks back on those years with gratitude for the community that helped support his education and with a desire to be able to give back to other children in the same way.
“Since we had nothing as youngsters, the generosity and involvement of those with a little more, really set an example,” Mr. Leesfield said in a recent interview with Authority Magazine discussing his charitable organization, The Leesfield Family Foundation.
Since its start over three decades ago, The Foundation has regularly supported local, national and international organizations dedicated to bettering the lives of those who are struggling, with a considerable focus on those dealing with women’s and children’s issues. In that time, Mr. Leesfield has cultivated relationships with the heads of these organizations, their founders and the people who are being directly impacted by this work.
“We can see the connections they [The Leesfield Family Foundation] have made with other non-profits that we work with,” said Holly Zwerling, the President of The Fatherhood Task Force of South Florida, an organization aimed at improving the roles of fathers in the lives of children. “It feels like a family being supported by the Leesfield Family Foundation.”
In addition to its annual contributions, The Leesfield Family Foundation is proud to continue its support to organizations such as The Fatherhood Task Force, Live Like Bella, Amigos for Kids, the Overtown Youth Center, The Underline and more during Give Miami Day.
The annual fundraiser 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 several food banks this November in Key West, where Leesfield & Partners has an office on historic Whitehead Street.
Recently, The Foundation sent help to the American Red Cross to support victims of Hurricanes Milton and Helene and has continued to support World Central Kitchen in its bid to provide meals to families and individuals affected by the war in Ukraine, proving that The Foundation’s impact stretches far beyond Florida’s borders.
“Recently, we received a letter from an Ukrainian/American with a contribution to benefit the World Central Kitchen to help give food to the Ukrainian people,” Mr. Leesfield said. “Her note was touching and thoughtful, while confirming the value of what we do.”
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 The Fatherhood Task Force:
The Fatherhood Task Force of South Florida is an organization geared toward providing services to fathers to help bridge the gap between parent and child. The Task Force was created in 2010 and Mr. Leesfield was there from almost the very beginning, according to Holly Zwerling, CEO and President of The Fatherhood Task Force.
“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 previously said. “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 more information about The Fatherhood Task Force of South Florida, 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/
For more information about The Leesfield Family Foundation, please visit: www.LeesfieldFamilyFoundation.org.
