As the lights of Coral Gables’ Art Cinema movie theater dimmed, the packed room looked up at the silver screen not to watch a fictional story, but the true tale of a scholar whose future was shaped by her community.
Hosted by local academic nonprofit Breakthrough Miami, the inaugural “Breakthrough Stories” event Sunday showcased a mini-documentary featuring alumna Heavyn Lee, showing how the program helped her reach the doors of Harvard University.
“I think it’s really important that we learn about ourselves, that we see where the road takes us,” said Lee. “I don’t think there’s anything that appreciates more than the investment that we put into our students and our scholars.”
Attendees walk into the Coral Gables Art Cinema theater.
(Rafael Hernandez for The Miami Times)
Breakthrough Miami hopes Lee’s story will be the first of many they show to their community, whom they’re increasingly relying on for support as major funding cuts spearheaded by the DeSantis administration loom over community-based organizations across Miami-Dade.
Breakthrough Miami is an eight-year, tuition-free program that provides under-resourced 5th–12th graders throughout South Florida with mentorship and academic tutelage. The program’s Support-A-Scholar fund allows donors to finance one year of a student’s journey at $5,000 per year.
A snapshot of Heavyn Lee’s mini documentary.
(Rafael Hernandez for The Miami Times)
Though Lee graduated from high school in 2020, she’s carried her experiences with Breakthrough well into her college career.
Growing up in a single-parent household, Lee’s mother engrained within her the importance of education and would enroll her in the best schools that she could, even if they were miles away.
“I’ve gone very far to receive a great education, whether it be in middle school, or elementary and middle school, where she invested in taking me to Ada Mary K-8 Center in Little Havana when I lived in Miami Gardens, and even preschool, where that was in Hialeah,” Lee said. “She was very adamant about making travel, even within Miami, commonplace.”
Guests applaud at the end of Lee’s documentary.
(Rafael Hernandez for The Miami Times)
Breakthrough’s site in Coconut Grove’s Carrollton School would give her something she had rarely experienced before walking through its doors: stability.
For the first time, she felt like she was part of a consistent, supportive community of peers and mentors, and it was there that she began to see education as something deeply personal.
“It was one of the first times that I realized that someone’s home can also be a place of self-study,” she said, referring to Carrollton’s campus, a former winter home turned school. “Even though it took me going all the way to Coconut Grove to realize that, it made me want to make sure that I brought that home all the more.”
Lee’s relationship with Breakthrough continued long after graduation. When the nonprofit asked her to share her story for its first “Breakthrough Stories” event, she agreed.
She didn’t realize at the time, however, that it would lead to the production of a short film that would follow her all the way to Massachusetts, even during the school’s famous Harvard-Yale football game.
“I sound excited now, but at the time I was not excited for them to be following me to the tailgate,” Lee said while laughing. “I had to explain it to my friends, ‘please act normal.’ But they were really cool about it, and I’m grateful that so many people have seen it.”
For Breakthrough Miami CEO Lori-Ann Cox, Lee’s success reflects the heart of the organization’s mission.
(L-R) Breakthrough CEO Lori-Ann Cox, Heavyn Lee, and Student Achievement Director Webber J. Charles pose together.
(Rafael Hernandez for The Miami Times)
“We refer to ourselves as Miami’s Opportunity Generator,” Cox said. “We’ve had incredible experiences with talented, motivated young people from all over Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, and their stories are so inspiring. We wanted a morning where we could showcase just a few of them — stories of opportunity, hope, and self-actualization.”
Cox emphasized that the nonprofit’s work is rooted in community belief and perseverance, and that events like “Breakthrough Stories” help bring changemakers and curious minds together.
“At Breakthrough, we believe that potential is an inexhaustible resource, and we do everything to cultivate it,” she said. “Obstacles and challenges are inevitable, but working through them is possible, and every time that you do, you unlock another part of your destiny.”
Still, the organization faces challenges of its own.
During the post-screening Q&A, Chief Philanthropy Officer Nicole Kaufman Glasgow spoke about the budget pressures facing nonprofits across the county.
“We’ve been very fortunate that our cadre of 164 teaching fellows and 28 success coaches are funded through AmeriCorps,” Glasgow said. “But we know that we need to build our base of private giving.”
Glasgow urged attendees to see themselves as part of Breakthrough’s mission, not just as donors, but as advocates.
She stressed that the continued support of their scholars is a community effort, and that their support would help stories like Lee’s become a reality.
“Stories like this should inspire all of us to continue to expand our collective impact,” Glasgow said. “We’re on an ambitious growth path, with goals of over 40% by 2030. So we need everybody in this theater, plus, plus, plus, to help support in the ways they can — financially, through volunteer hours, or through connections. We’re continuing to grow, and we need our village to grow with us.”
Breakthrough Miami is one of more than 1,400 organizations participating in Give Miami Day Nov. 20.