Achieve Miami is a literacy based service program where Upper School students go out to Homestead or Hilleleah and work to improve the literacy skills of students from under-resourced schools. 

Achieve Miami has been around since 2015 when they first inaugurated a program called “Baby Bulls.” The program’s goal was to bring together elementary and high school students to learn every Saturday. Today, the program is known as Achieve Saturdays and continues to strive for these values.  

For co-president Joaquin Posada, representing the club is a very gratifying experience.

“Being a representative of this amazing club is extremely gratifying, it has opened my eyes in a way it has never been before,” said Posada. “It is really nice to have an impact in the kids’ life, it definitely makes my day whenever I go.”

Each volunteer that goes gets a little buddy that they play with and help with reading and writing. Volunteers can earn up to 45 hours through repeated attendance to Achieve Miami events.

“Even though I have to wake up early on Saturdays, it ends up being beneficial for myself and the kids we help with. Not only am I helping them, but I’m also getting community service hours which will help me with my college applications,” said senior and co-president Emma van den Dijsse.

The program continues to show the ability of connecting students of all ages and backgrounds to increase learning for everyone. Since then, Achieve Miami’s work has expanded to include year-round programs for both elementary and high school children throughout Miami-Dade County that emphasize reading, music, college preparedness, service, and leadership. Junior Giulia Francez participated in the program last year, and according to her the hard work paid off.

“Last year I participated in the program, it was a really rewarding experience to say the least. It was really impactful to see how even though these kids come from a very different background from us share the same values as we do. It was really nice to help them become better students and better kids in general,” Francez said.

The next time the club will travel to Caribbean K-8 Center will be Oct. 15.