Haitian violinist will headline Children’s Trust awards gala

World renowned Haitian violinist Romel Joseph, a Julliard graduate and founder of the New Victorian School in Port-au-Prince, will headline The Children’s Trust’s sixth annual Champions for Children awards ceremony on Friday, Nov. 19.

The event will honor individuals and programs that have made a substantial mark serving children and families. This year, it will celebrate the resiliency of the Haitian people and its culture nearly one year after a devastating earthquake killed an estimated hundreds of thousands and left more than a million homeless.

Joseph’s wife and unborn child were among those killed and his New Victorian School was among the thousands of buildings destroyed.

Other musical performances will form part of the event which will have a Haiti  theme this year. 

The award categories and recipients are:

•  David Lawrence Jr. Champion for Children Award: Jean Caceres-Gonzalez, founder and executive director of His House Children’s Home, a nonprofit crisis residential shelter for abused, neglected and drug exposed children, and Sister Lucia Ceccotti, founder and executive director of Marion Center School & Services, a 50-acre campus dedicated to caring for children with disabilities since 1963. 

•  Excellence in Public Policy: State Sen. Rudy Garcia, member of the  Legislature since 1984.

•  Excellence in Direct Service for Children and Families: Daryl Miller, Leisure Lake park manager for Miami-Dade County Parks & Recreation Department.

•  Excellence in School Readiness Programming: University of Miami Linda Ray Intervention Center, Project “Hand n’ Hand,” a program that provides interactive education session with an emphasis on language development, emotional regulations and child development milestones to parents of infants and toddlers.

•  Excellence in Youth Programming for School and Life Success: Thomas Armour Youth Ballet, a program that provides ballet training to more than 1,000 students annually, with more than 500 attending through scholarships at locations in South Miami, Morningside, Homestead, Redland and Coconut Grove. 

•  Excellence in Health Family or Community Services: The Children of Inmates Service Partnership, a program that reunites children with their incarcerated parents.