For nearly 30 years, Touching Miami with Love has been serving the needs of people in Overtown and West Homestead.

Through holistic year-round programs, the organization serves nearly 400 students every weekday and during the summer. It’s a safe haven for communities.

As Touching Miami with Love CEO, Trina Harris, explained, the goal is to guide children and youth spiritually, intellectually, and emotionally and reduce the cycles of poverty by providing opportunities for economic mobility.

“We are teaching young people how to be self-sufficient and learning the skills of business development. It’s one of those things where critical thinking skills are extremely important in the educational system, but also in real life,” Trina Harris said. “So for us, providing real-life experiences for our young people are vital.”

How nonprofit led student to her dream job 

Jakaiya Harris, 21, has been taking part in the programs offered by Touching Miami with Love since she was in elementary school, and she told CBS News Miami it’s where she developed her love of cooking.

“This experience kind of helped me figure out what I want to do growing up. I’ve seen them always feeding everybody and making sure everybody was okay, and I got into the passion of cooking,” said Jakaiya Harris.

Now she’s an intern with the youth program and is giving back.

“It feels great to be a role model. To kids that look up to me, to tell them, don’t go that direction. My dream is to build a restaurant in Overtown, hopefully in a few years, a soul food restaurant,” she said.

Jakaiya Harris just received a culinary certification through a program introduced to her through Touching Miami with Love.

“It’s not easy on your own”

For single mother Destiny George, the nonprofit has been a haven for her and her 5-year-old daughter Regin. George told CBS News Miami she has been taking parenting classes while her daughter is involved in several of the educational programs.

The two took a field trip together to Legoland, through Touching Miami with Love.  

“Extremely grateful, extremely grateful. It’s not easy on your own, and I won’t pass it off as being easy. This has taken a large load off what my mind was already struggling with,” said George.

All the programs are free to people and youth in the community who want to utilize their resources. For Trina Harris, it’s a labor of love.

“It’s one of those things where being able to share the love of Christ by building relationships, being in community, that is my joy. That is the heart of what we do here at Touching Miami with Love,” said Trina Harris.

For more information on how you can take part in Touching Miami with Love, visit: Home New – Touching Miami with Love. 

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