AT&T Donates $25K to Overtown Youth Center

14 Jun AT&T Donates $25K to Overtown Youth Center

MIAMI, FL — AT&T recently delivered a surprise check for $25,000 to the Overtown Youth Center’s 4th Annual Save Our Sons (SOS) Youth Summit.

“AT&T believes it is critical for students to have access to the tools and support systems they need to graduate high school, and succeed in college and they enter the workforce,” said Cristal Cole, AT&T Florida external affairs. “We are proud to support community programming provided by organizations like the Overtown Youth Center, who help foster a safe environment where children can dream big and access the resources they need to be successful in life.” (Sign up for our free Daily Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Miami Patch.)

The nonprofit will use the AT&T contribution to support its Save Our Sons initiative, which was created to develop and enhance the lives of young men primarily in the Overtown community.

The Overtown program links mentoring and training programs with an ultimate goal of creating lifelong partnerships that transform failing support systems for young men in urban communities.

Co-founded by real-estate developer Martin Z. Marguiles and NBA Hall-of-Famer Alonzo Mourning, OYC is a year-round youth development program providing in-school, after school and summer program services, a parent enrichment program and post-high school support to over 400 students in the Overtown neighborhood and surrounding areas. The program offers a full range of services including educational enrichment, recreational activities, mentoring, literacy initiatives, performing arts, prevention and life skills/training for at-risk youth. For more information, visit www.overtownyouth.org.

The gift was provided by AT&T Aspire, which is the company’s signature philanthropic initiative to drive innovation in education by bringing diverse resources to bear. The company has already donated $250 million out of a planned $350 million set aside for such programs between 2008-2017.

Photo from left: Lyle Grandison, president, Respect for Life; Stephen Marino, OYC board chairman; Cristal Cole, AT&T external affairs; Tina Brown, OYC executive director; Shawn Blanchard, SOS Youth Summit keynote speaker; Kevin Vericker, City of Miami mayor’s office. Courtesy AT&T.