Friends and Neighbors: Helen Aguirre Ferre named to Florida Women’s Hall of Fame

The Miami-Dade County community is honored to have one of our own, Helen Aguirre Ferre of Miami Shores, as one of the three 2016 inductees in the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame. The award was announced by the Florida Commission on the Status of Women and the appointment was made by Gov. Rick Scott. The honorees will be inducted at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 27 on the 22nd Floor of the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee.

In addition to Ferre, the two other inductees are Carol Jenkins Barnett of Lakeland and Elmira Louise Leto of Key West.

Ferre, an award-winning bilingual journalist and communications consultant who is currently working on media and Hispanic engagement for Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign, has for 12 years worked for public affairs programming at WPBT2, an affiliate of PBS. In this capacity, she hosted the weekly series Issues and launched Issues Reports, a investigative arm of journalism that reached audiences from Florida’s Treasure Coast to the Florida Keys.

In addition to being a regular guest on several acclaimed national television programs, Ferre was a respected weekly columnist for the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald. She has also written for and held leadership positions at the Spanish-language daily newspaper Diario las Americas.

Ferre has also worked as a national host for Univision America Radio, which aired in the 10 major U.S. Hispanic media markets. She has worked as a political analyst for Univision during numerous national conventions and elections.

She has served on the board of trustees at Miami Dade College since 1999, and currently serves as its chair. Ferre has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Barry University and an master’s degree in Inter-American studies from University of Miami.

A warm Friends and Neighbors salute to you, ladies, the newest members of Florida Women’s Hall of Fame.

FUN-FILLED EVENING OF BINGO

You are invited to join the Woman’s Club of Coconut Grove at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 28, to enjoy a “family, fun-filled evening of bingo” at 2985 S. Bayshore Dr.

Bingo games start at 7 p.m. and admission is $5 per person for adults and free admission for children under 12, and $1 per card with a minimum of five games.

The event will feature free refreshments and snacks, gift certificates and other prizes. The last game will be a $1,000 cash prize with full Bingo card of 46 numbers called.

This year, the club will celebrate 125 years of service to the community and all proceeds from the bingo night will benefit the efforts to maintain the club’s beautiful, historic building.

Call 305-446-2909 for more information.

GRANT WRITING, VOLUNTEER BOOT CAMP

If you missed the previous Grant Writing 101 and the Volunteer Management Boot Camp, you will have another opportunity to do one or both this coming weekend.

Grant Writing 101 with Adraine Kreglo and Volunteer Boot Camp Management will be from 9 a.m. to noon on Friday, Jan. 29, at Comfort Suites Airport and Cruise Port, 1800 S. Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale.

Grant Writing only, will be taught Saturday, Jan. 30, at 10301 SW 170th Terr. in West Perrine Park.

The cost for the Grant-Writing/Volunteer Boot Camp package is $70 per person and $80 at the door on the day of the event. Cash and credit cards only will be accepted. Group rates are available by calling 786-618-1477.

ALHAMBRA ORCHESTRA CONCERT

The Alhambra Orchestra will present a free chamber concert, Slavonic Serenade, at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 31 at Coral Gables Congregational Church.

The free presentation will showcase Antonin Dvorak, who put some of his loveliest lines into his music for small ensembles. The program will include the orchestra’s chamber strings performing the Serenade for Strings, Opus 22, followed by the orchestra’s wind ensemble with the “Serenade for Wind Instruments, opus 44”. Timothy Shade is music director/conductor of the orchestra.

The family-oriented concert is sponsored by Citizens Interested in the Arts. For more information call 305-668-9250 or email alhambramusic@att.net.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS MONTH

The first walk in observance of Human Trafficking Awareness Month will begin at 10 a.m Friday, Jan. 29, at Florida National University, Hialeah Campus, 4425 W. Jose Regueiro (20th ) Ave. in Hialeah.

If you go, you will join Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez and Dr. Maria C. Regueiro, president and CEO of Florida National University.

The walk is in collaboration with the Powerhouse Human Trafficking Steering Planning Committee members in the struggle to eradicate human trafficking.

According to a news release from Florida National University, Florida ranks third in the nation for human trafficking incidents. The Department of Homeland Security calls human trafficking a “modern -day form of slavery involving the illegal trade of people for exploitation or commercial gain.”

Human trafficking affects men, women and children, and is becoming an increasingly prevalent problem on the local, national and global levels.

The community event will include a one-mile symbolic walk and feature speakers, live music, snacks and family-friendly activities.

For more information, search social media hashtags #StopSexTRaffickingMiami; #StopHumanTraffickingWalk and #FNUCommunity.

MIAMI JEWISH FEDERATION GRANTS $50,000

The Greater Miami Jewish Federation has dedicated $50,000 to continue its efforts to inspire and empower Jewish women with grants for new and/or expanded programs that aim to achieve social, economic, religious and political equality.

The Miami group is the first federation in North America to allocate funds from its annual Federation /UJA Campaign to support for programmatic solutions for women’s issues on a local level.

Known collectively as the 2016 Women’s Impact Initiative, the grants were chosen from applications from a wide array of local Jewish agencies and organizations. Selections for funding were based on a review of each proposal’s scope of impact, feasibility and sustainability.

The 2016 Women’s Impact Initiative emulates Federation’s successful Women’s Amutot Initiative, a program created 14 years ago to support not-for-profit organizations that aim to achieve lasting social change for women and girls in Israel.

“We felt that the same type of grant program should be offered t meet the needs of women in our own community,” said Elise Scheck Bonwitt, founding chair of the Women’s Impact Initiative. She also is a past president of Federation’s Women’s Philanthropy department and Federation Treasurer.

The recipients of the funds include Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center, awarded funds for “Women and Opportunities of Jewish Leadership; Chai Lifeline, for “Women’s Wellness Experience,” a one-day health fair to raise awareness and provide information about women’s health issues; Hadassah of Greater Miami for “Know Your Worth,” a curriculum developed by Jewish Women International; and The Hebrew Academy for “Va’Ani Tefilati” (I Am My Prayer), a program to inspire high school girls through interactive prayer.

Also, Jewish Community Services of South Florida for “Jewish Women in Need and for “Safety Smarts”, a sexual abuse prevention program for middle school girls in Orthodox day schools; The Galbut Family Miami Beach Jewish Community Center on the Simkins Family campus for “Rosh Chodesh (New Month): It’s a Girl Thing,” a program that encourages development of self-respect, personal strengths and leadership; National Council of Synagogue Youth for “GIVE Ambassadors,” a leadership training and community engagement course for 30 teenage girls who have participated in trips to Israel; Scheck Hillel Community School to expand its “girls Building STEAM” initiative; Sharsheret to provide culturally sensitive outreach education and peer support to Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women; and to the University of Miami Hillel to present “Reclaiming Our Inheritance: Women’s Leadership om Jewish Text and Media”.

For more information about the grants, contact Michelle Labgold, the federation’s chief planning officer at : mlabgold@gmjf.org or call her at 786-866-8492.

This story was originally published January 21, 2016 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Friends and Neighbors: Helen Aguirre Ferre named to Florida Women’s Hall of Fame."