TCCI Takes Students To Tallahassee

TCCI kids with Florida Governor Charlie Crist.

April 29, 2009 - The Children's Coalition Inc. (TCCI) this month took seven students to the Florida Legislature in Tallahassee. Five students served as pages or messengers in the Senate. Two others, along with TCCI Executive Director Carlton Cartwright, filmed a video on state officials' priorities for Florida's future.

Senate President Jeff Atwater (R-Palm Beach Gardens) sponsored TCCI's two pages and three messengers. Acting as pages were Tarrie Johnson-Mack, 18, and Mackeyia Swavy, 15. Acting as messengers were Malcolm Ndoine, 15, Janie Ndoine, 13, and N'equanshanae Brock, 12, all of West Palm Beach.

Delbert Clarke, 17, and Trevor Barber, 17, worked on the film crew. They interviewed Governor Charlie Crist, Department of Corrections Secretary Walter A. McNeil, Department of Children and Families Secretary George H. Sheldon, Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary Frank Peterman Jr., Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara J. Pariente, and almost a dozen senators and representatives.

The 15- to 30-minute video will be produced next month and TCCI hopes to air it on local governmental and educational cable channels, Cartwright said.

The trip was made from March 28 through April 5.

TCCI Director and Others Seek

Jail Alternatives for Juveniles

Jan. 31, 2009 - Carlton Cartwright, The Children's Coalition Inc.'s executive director, met with officials of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice and others seeking alternatives to jail for minority youth who are two and a half times more likely to be arrested for crimes than whites.

"There is a polarization between law enforcement and black people," Cartright told state officials, prosecutors, public defenders, police and community activists during meetings Friday and Saturday. "We need to break down those barriers."

Read the story at The Palm Beach Post.

A Christmas Donation

Dec. 24, 2008 - A $1,000 donation to The Children's Coalition Inc. has been made in the name of Carol L. Keefer by her brother as a holiday gift. Thanks so much for helping to spread the gift of knowledge this holiday season and Happy Holidays, Carol!

TCCI Student Covered Obama

Oct. 5, 2008 - Last year, TCCI student Tarrie Johnson-Mack got the opportunity to cover and shake hands with then Presidential candidate Barack Obama when Obama campaigned in Palm Beach County. This photo was taken March 25, 2007, at the Kravis Center and shows Mack, left, with now President-elect Obama and friends. This is the kind of oppportunity The Children's Coalition provides our kids - opportunities they will remember for a lifetime.

Jail and Bail

TCCI at the West Palm Beach 9/11 Memorial Service

Sept. 11, 2008 - West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel poses with some of TCCI's student photographers at the 9/11 memorial ceremony at Clematis By Night. Each week, TCCI kids shoot photos at the street festival and the city posts them on its web site. To see the students' work, go to www.clematisbynight.net/gallery.html

Firefighters pose for the kids.

How do you say "cheese" in Scottish?

Bowling with the WPB 100

Aug. 23, 2008 - Members West Palm Beach 100 sponsored a bowling trip to Verde's Tropicana Lanes for some of TCCI's kids. The West Palm Beach 100, a group of young professionals who support programs that benefit West Palm Beach's children, families and neighborhoods, has named The Children's Coalition their "Charity of Choice" and sponsors and supervises field trips throughout the year. See more photos ...

Green TV

July 27, 2008 - Green TV is a student produced television program documenting the first effort on the part of the Palm Beach County School District to build an environmentally friendly school. The new school is located at the Pine Jog Environmental Center on Summit Boulevard near Jog Road in West Palm Beach.

Our Students Rasheed Patillo, Tarrie Johnson-Mack, Anthony Wint, Norrell Worthy, Adam Shepherd, Bertuny Pierre-Louis, Jorge Barquet, and Dwayne Wildman participated in the video production portion of the project. They worked with TCCI professionals to write the script, shot on location video and create the final cut.

We hope this effort will transform into a monthly television spot about environmentally friendly topics produced by TCCI students.

Credits

TCCI Students

• Rasheed Patillo
• Tarrie Mack
• Anthony Wint
• Dwayne Wildman
• Jorge Barquet
• Norell Worthy
• Adam Shepherd
• Bertuny Pierre-Louis

Palm Beach School District Personnel

• Joe Sanches
• Christina Kasik
• Lee Kapp
• Jim Pickering
• David Samuels

Pine Jog Environmental Center

• Pat Welch, Executive Director

Zyscovich Architects

• Jose Murguido
• Thorn Grafton
• Joseph R. Ganesh
• Michael B. McGuinn

WPB 100 Donates $5,000

TCCI President Carlton Cartwright accepts a big check.

June 28, 2008 - The West Palm Beach 100 gave TCCI $5,000 at their annual gala at the theater.

"We love them," said TCCI President Carlton Cartwright.

"We certainly do," said Edrick Barnes, chariman of the board.

Many Thanks ...

June 10, 2008 - We would like to thank the following sponsors and contributors for our May contributions:

Love 4 One Another Charities, Inc.: Last year the Patrick Cousins Law Firm donated $7,000 to our organization and its efforts to provide programming to the underserved population of Palm Beach County. This year we were delighted to find out that they had created a non-profit organization called Love 4 One Another Charities, Inc. The new charity was gracious enough to provide us with $10,000 this year.

West Palm Beach 100: This fine group of young professionals has taken pride over the last several years in spreading their energy over what they consider to be several worthwhile non-profits. We are proud to be one of these. This year, in addition to the worthwhile time they donate to our students, the group saw fit to donate $5,000 to our cause.

We also would like to thank Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart and Shipley - Attorneys At Law for their generous donation of $500 and the F. Malcolm Cunningham Sr. Bar Association for their wonderful gift of $250.

Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation: Thanks for the donation $1,667 for our Believe and Achieve project on August 1, 2008. The foundation was started in 1995 by brothers Russell, Danny and Joseph Simmons. The Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation provides disadvantaged urban youth with exposure and access to the arts and provides exhibition opportunities to under-represented artists and artists of color.

Also thanks to Charles Keefer for his gift of $5,000 in memory of Kathryn Linwood.

We would like to thank the following contributors for the following pledges:

General Support - Through their application and grant process the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs has awarded our organization $2,500 for the next year starting in July. The City of West Palm Beach has awarded us a grant for $29,000 beginning in October.

Direct Program Expense - The Palm Beach County Cultural Council has allotted $8,244 for direct program services performed for in the interest of the clients we serve throughout Palm Beach County. The grant will start in October.

May 17, 2008 - The Children's Coalition, Inc. (TCCI) was fortunate to bond with the West Palm 100 for a trip to the Palm Beach Zoo at Dreher Park.

The West Palm 100 sponsored the field trip for 13 children. They helped the students take digital photos and talked with the students about the animals and their habitats, then treated the students to lunch at the zoo canteen.

"I thought it was a great educational opportunity for everyone," said Todd Bonlarron, service co-chair of the West Palm Beach 100. "It was a good opportunity for them (the students) to get out and work on the skills they have developed with the children's coalition."

The West Palm 100 is a civic and social organization for young professionals dedicated to supporting West Palm Beach's children, families and neighborhoods by donating time, money and people power to local organizations.

The organization has worked with TCCI several times in the past and will sponsor a bowling night for TCCI kids Aug. 23, 2008. Read more about the West Palm 100 on their web site at www.westpalm100.org.

To see photos the children took at the zoo, click here.

TCCI's Florida Senate Pages: Anthony Wint, Tarrie Mack, Whitney Walker and Tari Walker. For more photos, please click More Photos

April 23, 2008 - The Children's Coalition, Inc. (TCCI), established in 1994, has provided numerous opportunities for young people in South Florida, many of whom come from disadvantaged communities who would otherwise be limited to the experiences of their blighted neighborhoods.

In April, The Children's Coalition, Inc. organized and secured the funding to send four young people and a chaperone to serve as pages in the Florida Senate in Tallahassee.

Anthony Wint, Tarrie Mack, Whitney and Tari Walker, with an assist from their parents and TCCI, worked in the Capitol during the regular session. The four TCCI students were sponsored by Senator Dave Aronberg. Senator Jeff Atwater also sponsored other students local to Palm Beach County.

Each Senator can sponsor up to four pages between 15- and 18-years-old for one week during the 60-day regular session. Aronberg and Atwater represent the local areas served by TCCI.

The program was coordinated through Minnie Bush Bradshaw whose office is located in Tallahassee, (850) 487-5636. TCCI provided partial assistance to the participants with transportation, housing and meals while visiting Tallahassee. Without TCCI's help, the children would not have been able to visit Tallahassee and participate in state government.

Aronberg and Atwater not only were very accomodating, they also made the experience educational and exciting, the pages said.

TCCI participant Anthony Wint said he was asked his opinion on issues that affect him and other citizens of the state. This made learning about the legislative process interesting and made him realize the importance of becoming an informed voter when he becomes 18, he said.

Wint said he left the page program with renewed enthusiasm and and an understanding of the need to be knowledgeable about the issues affecting the lives of the citizens of Florida and how those issues affect all of us on the national level.

During the week of April 7, 2008, Wint and his peers assisted members of the Florida Senate by distributing materials and messages while learning about the legislative process and experienced a mock session in which students role-played as Senators and engaged in debates, discussions and voting on legislation.

The Children's Coalition, Inc. gave Anthony Wint and other pages a unique opportunity to see the Florida State government in action. This was civics class coming to life, an experience that cannot be duplicated in a classroom.

TCCI could not have done this without your support. Thank you for continuing to make a difference in the lives of so many youths.