[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 7081-7082]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING THE WOMEN'S FUND OF MIAMI-DADE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, in 1993, a group of south Florida 
women established the Women's Fund of Miami-Dade, a nonprofit dedicated 
to funding innovative community programs geared toward girls and young 
women.
  At the time of the fund's creation, gender-specific, community-based 
initiatives were nearly nonexistent. According to a survey undertaken 
by the Women's Fund in 1996, only five out of 142 local agencies had 
implemented programs exclusively for women. Absent from our community 
were programs to assist young women who were seeking to advance their 
educations, to

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secure their economic futures, or to engage in professional leadership 
training.
  The Women's Fund of Miami-Dade took this cause to our south Florida 
community, and it has since generated enough support to provide more 
than 350 gender-specific programs with the funding they so desperately 
require.
  Last Friday, on April 30, more than 800 women gathered together at 
the Women's Fund annual Power of the Purse Luncheon to highlight the 
tremendous success of past and current programs supported by the fund. 
These programs support women of all backgrounds and circumstances.
  The Women's Fund provides financial assistance to Lotus House, for 
example, which is a shelter for homeless women and infants in Overtown, 
an area of Miami which is suffering from extreme poverty. Thanks to the 
generous assistance by the Women's Fund, the Lotus House is now 
providing career training for women who are seeking entry-level 
positions in the restaurant and hospitality industry. Programs such as 
these have changed the lives of thousands of young girls and women in 
our community.
  One such woman is Tamara Brizard, a former Lotus House resident. 
Tamara was a single mother of three when she was referred to the Lotus 
House. During her time at the Lotus House, Tamara completed a course in 
food preparation. The training soon led to a job in the food service 
industry. With new skills and with a new job, Tamara has a place of her 
own, and she is now better able to provide for her three children. Of 
course, Tamara's story is just one of many successes achieved by the 
Women's Fund.
  The Women's Fund of Miami-Dade is also a powerful voice for social 
change. Together with Miami-Dade County, the Women's Fund has launched 
a campaign to increase public awareness of local services that are 
available to victims of domestic violence. Termed ``Voices Against 
Violence,'' this initiative implores abused victims to speak up, to get 
help, and to be safe. Domestic violence is a plague on our society that 
demands our constant attention at the Federal, State, and local levels.
  As an outspoken advocate of Federal initiatives to protect the 
victims of domestic violence and abuse, I am so proud of the efforts 
undertaken by the Women's Fund on this important issue.
  The involvement of the Women's Fund in their relief work of Haiti is 
another inspiring story. In helping to rebuild this island nation, the 
Women's Fund and its supporters have shown their unwavering commitment 
to service and have shown their generosity of spirit.
  According to Amnesty International, nearly half of all Haitian 
households are headed by women. Experience has shown that these women 
and girls will be the key in helping to rebuild Haiti and in helping to 
create a safe, stable, and prosperous nation. The Women's Fund is in a 
unique position to highlight this reality and to make sure that Haiti's 
future growth and transformation will touch all sectors of its society.
  Since I have come to Congress, Madam Speaker, it has been one of my 
foremost objectives to ensure that women have equal opportunity to a 
higher education, that they are protected from harassment and 
intimidation in the workplace, and that they have access to life-saving 
health screening for heart disease and for breast cancer.
  I am so grateful for the tremendous leadership of local organizations 
such as the Women's Fund in working toward these important and 
obtainable goals, and I look forward to collaborating with the Women's 
Fund of Miami-Dade in the years to come.

                          ____________________