411 and Nightlife Charity Event

[sungal]

For the first time since I’ve been here I noticed all the homeless people using cardboard for a bed, curled up by the shop entrances on Lincoln Rd. It would be great if the 411ers could partner with some of the big clubs, and do a charity night, with proceeds to benefit the homless. We should really try to do something like that. Kristine, we’d probably need your help organizing this.

It could be Miami Tour Company/411 and Miami’s hottest Nightclubs Partner for our City’s Homeless. It would be great publicity for all involved and of course help out a lot of needy people.

If someone else has a cause that's close to their heart, please share..it does not have to be the one I'm suggesting.

What do you think??

[Kristine]

I am the first one to give the "GO" on Charity... I love helping people and well... anything/one that needs my help. The only thing I have to ask is... What will we be able to do for them? We cannot give most homeless people money, the sad truth is that many of them will not use it towards help, rather drugs.

We can't buy them mattresses, bc how will they keep them and be sure that no one else steals the mattress?

Maybe we can do something along the lines of like what the homeless shelter does with giving out meals. Help Camillus House (younger homeless people) or the Homeless shelter to supply the homeless with food, water, clothing, and all other necessary means for a healthy life. I have done this before and it's really quite awesome to help. I personally clean out my closet EVERY 3 months and donate it to a different person everytime that I know needs clothing.

Oooorrr.... maybe we can do a big donation drive, then give it out to the homeless? With the amount of readers we have, it'll be easy to spread the word and have people help us. I personally would not give it to Goodwill or companies like such because they in turn SELL the clothing... defeats the purpose of helping homeless because most cannot afford $10 jeans and shirts.

Since I was a little girl, I always wanted to open a homeless shelter and provide people with a place to eat, sleep, and live in peace. I also wanted this for animals. If I had the funds and means to do so.... I totally would have done it already. I love your idea.... we just really need to see what we can do that'll genuinely benefit the people.

[sungal]

What if we donated half of the proceeds to a homeless shelter, and then bought giftcards for the homeless (I'm thinking CVS, McDonald's,..Publix and some cash)..The people who sleep in the shelter would also get the gift cards/cash. We could have a bilingual person from a shelter hand out the cards/cash to the people on the street, along with an informative brochure about the shelter's services, and try hard to get the person to take advantage of the services. They would spend time getting to know the person, their situation, and needs.


I think the "Miami Tour Co/Miami's Nightclubs Partner for the City's Homeless" event would generate the most money. The hardest part might be getting the clubs to donate a part of their profits that night. Once one club does the others will follow. We would organize the event, publicize it, maybe design flyers, take photos of the night..etc.

[Doug]

There are already homeless charity organizations out there. Rather than giving the money, meals or gift cards directly to the homeless, why not raise money for one or more of these groups?

A lot of the shelters are run by religious groups who refuse to help those who are using drugs and/or drunk. They also make them listen to sermons a lot of the time before they can get their food. A reputable non-sectarian organization might be a better way.

Even when you're just giving out free meals, there are some crafty ones who will sneak through the line multiple times and sell/barter plates of food to their friends down the street. I volunteered a few times and saw it happening. An organization experienced with getting assistance to the homeless would be able to make sure it was done right.

[sungal]

I agree that part of the money should go to a non-religious shelter. However, sometimes the people most in need refuse to go to a shelter or don't know about the shelters. I think putting money directly in the hands of those in need, and skipping the middleman, can be the most effictive. Right then and there, you know that you're giving them help and maybe a bit of hope. The money is in their hands, no channels for them to go through, and you know the money will directly benefit them, and not something else-like the renovation fund of a shelter 10 years down the road.

But like I said, I think half and half is fair.

[Kristine]

I know people that can help us in the club section of the event. Text to Party, being a Go Green company I bet would be great in helping us to organize an event. They work with some pretty big venues and just had that huge party at Mansion on Friday that had a huge turn out. Also, maybe Tommy can help since he is a VIP host.

Tonight I have a big dinner at Asia de Cuba, so I can talk to some people and see if maybe they can help with anything. When in doubt, seek help from the experts! The concierge association has a board member that his job is specifically community service oriented. I'm sure they would be more than happy to help us, which then gets all of the hotels that are members involved as well. They can send out the invite of whatever we end up doing to the entire association which is a pretty large community of hospitality professionals.

Let me look in to the different organizations and see who we can find. I agree with Doug, find one that is sermon-free. I really like Camillus House because I met a girl that was living there with her little girl. She was drug free for about a year and living there until she got her feet on the ground. It really hit home for me because it was younger people that really just needed a place in the world.

[Doug]

That sounds like a good idea, Kristine. Something like Camillus House would be good. It's kind of like that adage, "Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach him to fish and he eats for life." They're able to make sure the money goes to the right stuff and that it goes as far as possible, to the most people in genuine need.

[Rebecca Lucente]

That sounds like a good idea, Kristine. Something like Camilla House would be good. It's kind of like that adage, "Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach him to fish and he eats for life." They're able to make sure the money goes to the right stuff and that it goes as far as possible, to the most people in genuine need.

I'm in agreement with you all the way, Doug - I've seen people buy drugs with food stamps, purses... I don't see why gift cards are any different - a $50 gift card will buy $25 worth of crack or heroin.... It would be infinitely more effective and also easier to organize if we work with an organization already in place... The party idea is fine and good, but what about organizing a few days where a bunch of us sign up to volunteer together- we'd get to hang out/ get to know each other and also provide a service... we could take pics and one of our writers could put an article up about it... That would definitely be something worth coming back to Dade for..

[Doug]

That sounds like it would be fun!

[Rebecca Lucente]

Would you drive down for that?

[coach]

I would suggest the Miami Rescue Mission. They definitely could use it. And you could probably get Michael Capponi involved, which would be a big boon.

I would be happy to lend what help I can, as well.

[Rebecca Lucente]

Miami Rescue Mission

[Maria de los Angeles]

I am happy we are doing something about this because it has been my dream for a long time. I used to live and work on Lincoln Road and I would see the homeless spectacle day in and day out on that touristy promenade, especially in the early morning hours.

In the past, before blogging life, I had always wanted to create some kind of pamphlet to create awareness about homeless people in South Beach, but nowadays, we can get the word out even further with through blogs, twitter and facebook. Last year, I created a Flickr photo pool specifically to document the unglamorous side of South Beach.

I like the idea of forming a 411 team to volunteer hours *followed* by a charity nightlife event. If we pledge to volunteer hands-on somehow, I think it inspires people all the more to get involved. Not only is money needed, but follow-through, care and consistent concern from volunteer ambassadors for a cause.

I went to 100 Days of Obama event yesterday with Brad and there were several organizations recruiting volunteers. I'm wondering if we can't do something similar. Find a venue, decent discounts on food and drink, and then have the organizations set up to talk and create awareness, in addition to the music, fun, entertainment etc;

In addition to Miami Rescue Mission, here's another organization I learned about yesterday:
Standup For Kids. They help homeless and runaway teens in Miami.

I met one of the volunteers. She told me that when her family first moved to Miami, they had been homeless because of financial catastrophe. Now this organization is helping teens with food, clothing and hygiene products and with legal issues, etc ; According to their stats, there are 1.3 million homeless kids in the US every night.

Just an idea.

Also, something to keep in mind - the homeless issue in Miami Beach is a bit thorny. You have gay pick ups by Lummus Park and sex offenders living under the Julia Tuttle. Something else to keep in mind.

[Talmage]

If you guys are serious about doing something for the homeless in Miami Beach, you should contact the Homeless Program Coordinator at the CMB:

Ingrid Usaga
555 17th St.
305-673-7000 x 2014

As mentioned, the issue is complicated. Ms. Usaga's department is knowledgeable and very in touch with the community and their needs. Consult the experts!

[Maria de los Angeles]

Thank you, Talmage!

[sungal]

I would rather just do a big event, and hand over a juicy check to one or several of the charities/shelters that help the homeless.


I know I was a fan of giving half the proceeds directly to the homeless, but I now think it would be better to give it to the charities that help them.

[Christina]

I really like your idea Maria. Working in nonprofit, I can assure you that volunteer hours are just as valuable as money. There are so many organizations out there that suffer, not just because of budget cutbacks, but because they don't have the manpower to put forth their mission as best as possible.

We have had a number of people in my organization make service projects around Miami Rescue Mission, Camillus House, Standup for Kids, His House and countless others. One of the benefits of working with kids in a service-oriented organization is that you see them really helping and supporting the community in which we live. If only adults could follow their lead...

[Kristine]

I'm leaning less towards the idea of an event. More towards hands on help. I mean a nightlife event would be great, but it really make a bigger impact when people go out of their way, step away from their busy lives, and HELP!

Let's stop talking and start doing!! I work in the mb411 office tomorrow morning, I'll make some calls and see what we can whip up!

When should we plan this for? Probably in a month from now so it gives us enough time to let everybody and they mama know about what's going on. Since I gave a months advance notice for my Halloween party, that's how we had about 600 people show up under my name. Craziness. If we spread the word enough for people to come out and help... We can make this bigger than 600 peeps!

MB411 is making a difference starting today!:)

[Christina]

I'm leaning less towards the idea of an event. More towards hands on help. I mean a nightlife event would be great, but it really make a bigger impact when people go out of their way, step away from their busy lives, and HELP!

Let's stop talking and start doing!! I work in the mb411 office tomorrow morning, I'll make some calls and see what we can whip up!

When should we plan this for? Probably in a month from now so it gives us enough time to let everybody and they mama know about what's going on. Since I gave a months advance notice for my Halloween party, that's how we had about 600 people show up under my name. Craziness. If we spread the word enough for people to come out and help... We can make this bigger than 600 peeps!

MB411 is making a difference starting today!:)

If you can whip up 600 volunteers for this, I am totally recruiting you as a volunteer for GS. lol

Seriously, you would be my hero.

[Tere]

My 2 cents: hands-on help over a party, with an option to make a financial contribution.