Publix Super Markets Charities has donated $250,000 to support the new 65,000-sq.-ft., state-of-the-art, four-story L.A. Lee YMCA/Mizell Community Center on Sistrunk Boulevard. “Publix Charities is proud to support the YMCA of South Florida as it strives to build healthy, confident and secure children, families and communities,” Publix Super Markets Charities Executive Director Kelly Williams-Puccio said. “The L.A. Lee YMCA/Mizell Community Center is a shining example of Publix Charities’ and the Y’s commitment to our communities.” The L.A. Lee YMCA will have a significant impact on the community, economically and culturally. This community gathering place nurtures the potential of local youth by providing a positive environment and opportunities and creates a place that provides complete health and wellness programs for kids, families, adults and seniors; afterschool programs, community events and meeting space; a preschool; workforce education through Broward College’s Broward UP; as well as making retail space available to encourage economic growth; and bringing up to 100 jobs to the historically Black community’s main street. There’s also a four-lane, 25-meter swimming pool where children in the community learn to swim and police and EMTs train. There’s a full court basketball court, which can be reconfigured as a volleyball court, a fully equipped fitness center and the Victory Black Box Theatre, which brings cultural arts to the Sistrunk community through programming, arts education and knowledge of behind-the-scenes performing arts. Most recently, through its partnership with Local 10 News to address food insecurity and raise awareness about the plight of hunger affecting schools, neighborhoods and communities, Publix Super Markets coordinated a donation of food and non-perishable items to the Y’s new La Bodega community food pantry located in the Village of Allapattah YMCA in Miami. In addition to weekday food distributions, other services available include healthy food education, healthy cooking demonstrations, food home deliveries, dietician services, a community refrigerator with access to prepared food at all hours and access to the YMCA Health Navigation Program. Publix Super Markets Charities is involved in several other Y initiatives including water safety and drowning prevention programs, Healthy Kids Day, and the Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Inspirational Weekend. In 1966, Publix’s founder George W. Jenkins, affectionately known as Mr. George, established a charitable foundation with the intention of caring for his community—and with a vision that the giving would continue long after he was gone. Today, Publix Super Markets Charities remains committed to serving the communities in which Publix operates, allowing the legacy of giving to continue.
