As the lights of Coral Gables\u2019 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hosted by local academic nonprofit Breakthrough Miami, the inaugural \u201cBreakthrough Stories\u201d event Sunday showcased a mini-documentary featuring alumna Heavyn Lee, showing how the program helped her reach the doors of Harvard University.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it’s really important that we learn about ourselves, that we see where the road takes us,\u201d said Lee. \u201cI don’t think there’s anything that appreciates more than the investment that we put into our students and our scholars.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Attendees walk into the Coral Gables Art Cinema theater.\u00a0<\/p>\n
(Rafael Hernandez for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n
Breakthrough Miami hopes Lee\u2019s story will be the first of many they show to their community, whom they\u2019re increasingly relying on for support as major funding cuts spearheaded by the DeSantis administration loom over community-based organizations across Miami-Dade.<\/p>\n
Breakthrough Miami is an eight-year, tuition-free program that provides under-resourced 5th\u201312th graders throughout South Florida with mentorship and academic tutelage. The program\u2019s Support-A-Scholar fund allows donors to finance one year of a student’s journey at $5,000 per year.<\/p>\n
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A snapshot of Heavyn Lee\u2019s mini documentary.<\/p>\n
(Rafael Hernandez for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n
Though Lee graduated from high school in 2020, she\u2019s carried her experiences with Breakthrough well into her college career.<\/p>\n
Growing up in a single-parent household, Lee\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’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,\u201d Lee said. \u201cShe was very adamant about making travel, even within Miami, commonplace.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Guests applaud at the end of Lee\u2019s documentary.<\/p>\n
(Rafael Hernandez for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n
Breakthrough\u2019s site in Coconut Grove\u2019s Carrollton School would give her something she had rarely experienced before walking through its doors: stability.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was one of the first times that I realized that someone\u2019s home can also be a place of self-study,\u201d she said, referring to Carrollton\u2019s campus, a former winter home turned school. \u201cEven 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lee\u2019s relationship with Breakthrough continued long after graduation. When the nonprofit asked her to share her story for its first \u201cBreakthrough Stories\u201d event, she agreed.<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t 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\u2019s famous Harvard-Yale football game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI sound excited now, but at the time I was not excited for them to be following me to the tailgate,\u201d Lee said while laughing. \u201cI had to explain it to my friends, \u2018please act normal.\u2019 But they were really cool about it, and I\u2019m grateful that so many people have seen it.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Breakthrough Miami CEO Lori-Ann Cox, Lee\u2019s success reflects the heart of the organization\u2019s mission.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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(L-R) Breakthrough CEO Lori-Ann Cox, Heavyn Lee, and Student Achievement Director Webber J. Charles pose together.<\/p>\n
(Rafael Hernandez for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n
\u201cWe refer to ourselves as Miami\u2019s Opportunity Generator,\u201d Cox said. \u201cWe\u2019ve 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 \u2014 stories of opportunity, hope, and self-actualization.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cox emphasized that the nonprofit\u2019s work is rooted in community belief and perseverance, and that events like “Breakthrough Stories\u201d help bring changemakers and curious minds together.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Breakthrough, we believe that potential is an inexhaustible resource, and we do everything to cultivate it,\u201d she said. \u201cObstacles and challenges are inevitable, but working through them is possible, and every time that you do, you unlock another part of your destiny.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, the organization faces challenges of its own.\u00a0<\/p>\n
During the post-screening Q&A, Chief Philanthropy Officer Nicole Kaufman Glasgow spoke about the budget pressures facing nonprofits across the county.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been very fortunate that our cadre of 164 teaching fellows and 28 success coaches are funded through AmeriCorps,\u201d Glasgow said. \u201cBut we know that we need to build our base of private giving.\u201d<\/p>\n
Glasgow urged attendees to see themselves as part of Breakthrough\u2019s mission, not just as donors, but as advocates.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She stressed that the continued support of their scholars is a community effort, and that their support would help stories like Lee\u2019s become a reality.<\/p>\n
\u201cStories like this should inspire all of us to continue to expand our collective impact,\u201d Glasgow said. \u201cWe\u2019re 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 \u2014 financially, through volunteer hours, or through connections. We\u2019re continuing to grow, and we need our village to grow with us.\u201d<\/p>\n