Breakthrough Miami announced a $2 million gift from Kenneth C. Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel and founder of Griffin Catalyst. The gift will support the expansion of Breakthrough Miami’s nationally recognized Students-Teaching-Students leadership model.
The funding will create more opportunities for high school and college students to serve in apprenticeships as Volunteer Teachers, Teaching Assistants, and Teaching Fellows.
Breakthrough Miami said the model helps older students build leadership and workforce skills while supporting younger Scholars in succeeding academically.
The gift will support more than 600 high school and college students each year through Breakthrough Miami’s leadership pipeline. It will also reach 1,800 Breakthrough Scholars across South Florida.
Funding will expand instructional coaching, leadership training, recruitment, evaluation, and program capacity. It will also increase the number of paid Teaching Assistantships and Teaching Fellowships available to students across South Florida.
Through the program, emerging leaders develop skills in instructional design and delivery, public speaking, time and project management, and adaptive problem-solving.
Students also learn to mentor and motivate others, communicate across diverse audiences, and lead with empathy and accountability.
The enhanced leadership pathway will provide students with more than 1,200 hours of development opportunities throughout high school and college.
These opportunities include classroom teaching, instructional coaching, mentorship, and leadership training.
Breakthrough Miami also introduces students to careers in education, youth development, mental health, and social services.
The organization said this helps strengthen workforce pipelines in fields facing significant shortages nationwide.
With support from Griffin Catalyst, Breakthrough Miami will also deepen evaluation and research efforts to measure the impact of its students-teaching-students model and share best practices nationally.
Breakthrough Miami’s Teaching Fellowship program has been recognized nationally as a top service leadership experience.
The program currently operates across eight school-based sites and serves 1,800 youth from more than 320 schools across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.
Participants reside in nearly half of all ZIP codes across the three-county region.
Breakthrough Miami is pursuing a goal to expand its reach by 40% by 2030.
Since 1991, Breakthrough Miami has supported more than 4,000 Scholars and provided service leadership experiences to 2,500 Teaching Fellows and 5,000 Volunteers.
The organization impacts more than 2,500 youth annually across 150 ZIP codes and 320 schools.
Griffin Catalyst is Griffin’s civic engagement initiative, supporting philanthropic and community impact efforts across areas including education, science and medicine, upward mobility, freedom and democracy, enterprise and innovation, and communities.
KEY QUOTES:
“There are few places where a 14- or 15-year-old can begin a structured leadership journey that can continue through high school and college, gaining thousands of hours of real teaching, mentoring, and workforce experience. Student leaders at Breakthrough learn to operate as professionals early, managing responsibilities, leading groups, and seeing themselves as capable contributors. Griffin Catalyst’s support allows us to scale this unmatched youth leadership pathway.”
“We offer a real-world apprenticeship in the skills that define the knowledge economy – communication, adaptability, collaboration, reflection, and leadership, while simultaneously delivering academic and social impact for younger Scholars.”
Lori-Ann Cox, CEO of Breakthrough Miami
“Breakthrough Miami has a profound impact on the lives of Miami students by teaching them the leadership and learning skills they need to pursue their dreams and aspirations. I care deeply about the lives of young people, and I am excited to know that my support of Breakthrough Miami will make a meaningful difference in our community.”
Kenneth C. Griffin, Founder and CEO of Citadel and Founder of Griffin Catalyst
