Branches, Inc. Receives Gift from the Patrick P. Lee Foundation
Miami, FL (PRWEB) July 25, 2013 -- Last month, the Patrick P. Lee Foundation presented a $100,000 grant to Branches, Inc. (formerly South Florida Urban Ministries) to support the Building Up Branches Capital Campaign for the new Branches Florida City facility. With this incredible support, Branches will be able to build a new and larger facility in Florida City in order to serve more children and families in South Dade.
To make this gift even more special, an Anonymous Family Foundation has committed to a generous $1.5:$1 matching grant for all donations and pledges made to the Building Up Branches Capital Campaign by this past June 30, 2013. The new proposed building will house the programs of Branches Florida City that serve the academic, life enrichment and financial stability needs of children, youth and families. Branches Florida City is Branches, Inc.'s anchor program site in South Miami-Dade County providing services to residents of Florida City and Homestead.
Mr. Patrick P. Lee used his business savvy and leadership skills as an inventor and engineer early in his career to found Enidine Incorporated, one of the world’s premier manufacturers of shock absorption and vibration isolation products located in Buffalo, NY. Eventually a holding company, International Motion Control (IMC) was formed and grew into a worldwide conglomerate with manufacturing facilities located all over the globe and with a network of over 300 independent distributors. In the spring of 2007, Patrick Lee sold IMC and utilized the majority of the assets from the sale to establish The Patrick P. Lee Foundation.
Branches Florida City currently serves over 200 students, providing after-school programming through its Grow program, and youth development services through its Climb program. Branches also offers financial stability services to the parents and family members of the students which include free tax preparation, budgeting, Ways to Work car loan program and much more. With the new facility scheduled to open in the Fall of 2014, Branches will be able to triple the number of children and families served and be able to make an even greater and lasting impact.
The new 11,000 square foot Branches facility will house a large multi-purpose room, kitchen, offices, classrooms, weight lifting room, computer lab, covered patio, new playground and a United Way Center for Financial Stability (UWCFS) of South Dade. Branches currently houses and operates the United Way Center for Financial Stability at its North Miami Community Center and main office and looks forward to being able to provide high quality financial coaching services to families in Florida City and Homestead. Even though Branches already provides economic development services at Branches Florida City, once the official UWCFS is on-site, families will have access to an even larger array of services.
Groundbreaking for the new building is currently planned for the early Fall of 2013 and Branches will be inviting the community to join them for this exciting endeavor.
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About Branches
For 40 years, Branches (formerly South Florida Urban Ministries) has made a positive impact in the community by delivering on its mission to serve, educate and inspire people through student, family and financial stability services. Branches provides long-term, holistic services for motivated individuals and families. We help people grow deeper and climb higher in life by building a foundation through education so they can achieve their goals and fulfill their potential. For further details about the Branches Capital Campaign, please contact Isabelle Pike at 305-442-8306 x1002 or ipike(at)branchesfl(dot)org. To make a gift to Branches, please visit http://www.branchesfl.org and click on DONATE.
About the Patrick P. Lee Foundation
Located in Key Largo, FL and Amherst, NY, the Patrick P. Lee Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to providing support to non-profit organizations that empower families and communities with the resources needed to create positive change in areas of medical care & research, education, behavioral health and human & community services in parts of Miami/Dade and Monroe Counties in South Florida and Erie & Niagara Counties in New York. For more information, visit http://www.patrickpleefoundation.org
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Isabelle Pike, Branches (formerly South Florida Urban Ministries), http://www.branchesfl.org, 305-442-8306 1002, [email protected]
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