Achieve Miami– A Meaningful Nonprofit for Soffer Students

By: Remi Potack

Achieve Miami is a nonprofit organization based in Miami's low-income communities that aims to improve the reading, writing, and social skills of underserved children. The organization holds meaningful sessions on Saturdays across seven different elementary schools: Brentwood Elementary, Caribbean K-8 Center, Fredrick Douglass Elementary, Jesse J. McCrary Elementary, North Glade Elementary, Lake Stevens Elementary, and Dr. William A. Chapman Elementary. The nonprofit is actively making a difference in the lives of children, and students at Don Soffer High are contributing in exceptional ways.

(Perez, 2022)

Soffer's School Chapter/Club

Established in 2022, Soffer's Achieve chapter has brought the nonprofit into the eyes of high school students: influencing them to volunteer on Achieve Saturdays, holding book-drives & community events, making book marks, cards, and other uplifting projects for the children at Achieve.

The student Co-Presidents, Remi Potack and Farrah Buchwald, are keeping the Achieve-club traditions alive by leading the club in its fourth successful year. Throughout the '24-'25 school year, bookmarks, mini fortune tellers, and cards were made—all containing positive affirmations for the children at Achieve. The club has also been able to recruit over ten students to be volunteers, all in which are ecstatic to now be apart of such an incredible cause. Lastly, a book drive was held in February, in which Soffer was able to donate approximately thirty books directly to Achieve Miami. The donated books went a long way for the organization, as they brought in a wider range of books for the children to enjoy & learn from.

(Potack, 2024)

Research Conducted by Soffer Student Shows Incredible Findings

For her AP Research project, a Don Soffer student took the measures to conduct research on Achieve Miami: revealing how it has fostered "a sense of belonging" and improved educational skills for the underserved children." The findings revealed how the organization is bridging the education gap for students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds in Miami.

When asked the question, "What is a special moment you've had at the organization that made you feel welcome?", a student responded: "I called a big buddy (high school volunteer) my hero, because she taught me how to read better and pronounce the words better and was really nice to me." Another question was, "What are ways the big buddies have helped you improve reading skills?", in which a student responded: "The big buddies have helped me learn new words and figure out how to find the author, main idea, and genre of the story which helped me in school too."

(2024)

After gathering the data from 15 student responses to semi structured interviews, and 15 parental responses to surveys, it was shown that the children at Achieve are inevitably benefiting from the organizations workings, and it has made magnificent & lasting changes in the lives of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds.

(Perez, 2022)

Conclusions

Achieve Miami continues to be what it is: a life-changing nonprofit for underprivileged children. It has helped children achieve their upmost & full potential: in both their reading and social assets. For Don Soffer students, it's more than just a club. Standing in it's fourth year at the high school, the Soffer chapter is demonstrating to students that they too can make a difference, and they are capable of making the world a better place.