Miami Beach City Commissioner Alex Fernandez Joins 5000 Role Models of Excellence for their 32nd Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Breakfast

Miami Beach, FL – Miami Beach City Commissioner Alex Fernandez will be joining Congresswoman Frederica Wilson and Miami-Dade County Public Schools for the 5000 Role Models of Excellence for their 32^nd Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Breakfast on Saturday, January 18, 2025. The breakfast will be held at the Miami Beach Convention Center at 8:30 a.m.

“Having the 5000 Role Models Scholarship Breakfast here in Miami Beach is a testament to our city’s dedication to fostering education and opportunity,” shared Commissioner Alex Fernandez. “Together, we are empowering the next generation of leaders to success and thrive.”

“I am so happy to have Commissioner Alex Fernandez join us for the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Breakfast, especially representing the host city of the breakfast,” Congresswoman Frederica Wilson said, founder of the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project. “Frederick Douglass said, ‘It is easier to raise strong children than to repair broken men.’ And for over 32 years, the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project has been on that mission of building strong children. That is what this weekend is all about and just like Martin Luther King Jr had a dream, I have a dream that every boy across America can be a member of the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project. It’s all about prevention, not detention, and through prevention, we can put a stop to gun violence and crime and put our children onto a path to success.”

This amazing event will be comprised of several impactful elements, including the induction of the new 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project Mentors, as well as a Rites of Passage Ceremony for the (45) Wilson Scholars. During this ceremony, the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project Wall Men recognize the graduating class and prepare them to enter the next phase of their educational journey, as the young men matriculate to their respective college institutions in the Fall.

Breakfast will be served, and introductory music will be provided by the Miami Carol City Senior High School Marching Band. The Keynote Address will be delivered by the Democratic Leader of the United States’ House of Representatives, the Honorable Hakeem Jeffries. A local community champion will also be recognized and awarded for their philanthropic efforts benefiting children within the South Florida community.

The 5000 Role Models Excellence Project was founded in 1993 by Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, then a School Board Member, as a vehicle to curtail and delineate in-school dropouts and break the school-to-prison pipeline by ensuring young Black and Brown boys make it to college through mentorship and the creation of educational opportunities.

The organization has expanded across Florida to include Miami-Dade County, Broward, Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Duval counties. Most recently, the organization has planted its roots nationally in Detroit, MI, and Los Angeles, CA, in addition to international chapters being added in the islands of the Bahamas.

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