HANDY (Helping Advance and Nurture the Development of Youth) will host its 17th Annual Scholars Breakfast on Thursday, May 18 from 7:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. at The Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort.
This year’s Scholars Breakfast will celebrate the light of our scholars from foster, relative, and non-relative care who have beat the odds and graduated from college within the last 12 months.
In addition, this year’s Breakfast will honor the 2023 Champions of Children whose interest, vision, and generous support have significantly contributed to HANDY’s continued success.
HANDY was founded in 1985 by Ed Pudaloff, who wished to create something special to help abused and neglected children in the Broward County community. He reached out to two of his closest friends, Marti Huizenga and Kathy Jackson, for help. The three of them started fundraising committees and created scholarship funds, bought clothes for children, and celebrated their birthdays. In the beginning, they had two well-known events, Easter for Kids and the Fashion Show, which went on for years before incorporating other events such as the Scholars Breakfast.
On July 1, 2021, HANDY formed a strategic alliance with HOMES that strengthens the quality of services provided to Broward County residents and expands efforts to provide housing, job coaching, paid internships, financial capability classes, life coaching, and emergency services and support to young adults (and their children) who are aging out of foster and relative/nonrelative care.
Graduating Scholars
Acoya Johnson – Florida Atlantic University-Bachelor of Social Work
Ojdre Sutherland – Florida Atlantic University-Bachelor of Science Biology
Aconomie Davis – Sheridan Tech- Certification in Cosmetology
Maryann Singer – Florida Atlantic University- Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
Edward Pratt – Broward College-Associates of Art
Maxie Debiso – Hofstra University- Bachelor of Art in Jewish Studies with a minor in World Literature
Charitianna Francois – University of Central Florida- Bachelor of Business Management
Champions of Children Award Recipients:
DPR Construction
Heather Geronemus
Daszkal Bolton
Lieutenant Robert Furman
DETAILS: Individual tickets are $75 and can be purchased here: https://www.handyinc.org/events/scholars-breakfast-2023/
