News & Events

The Education Fund's 40th-anniversary celebration continued with a delicious bang at the 2025 Taste of Education. World Red Eye captured all the delicious details.

Wells Fargo has been named as The Education Fund’s 2025 “Donor Next Door” for its transformative support of financial education in Miami-Dade County’s public schools.

The Education Fund Inc. was awarded a $600,000 grant to address mental health and nutrition barriers to equitable health for children.

The food forest at William J Bryan Elementary School was developed in 2015 by The Education Fund, a nonprofit organization in public-private partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools since 1985. The Education Fund manages a total of 30 food forests at elementary schools throughout the county, as well as an additional 21 edible gardens that are similar to the forests, only on raised garden beds.

he Life Time Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit created by Life Time Inc., recently contributed $50,000 to support The Education Fund Food Forests for Schools program. The initiative, now involving 28,000 students across Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS), aims to foster a deeper connection between students, healthy food options, and the environment.

The Education Fund's free school supply pop-up in Homestead.

Hector J. Ponte, a Wells Fargo’s branch banking regional executive in South Florida, shares his insights into the impact of the work The Education Fund on teachers in Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

The Life Time Foundation is issuing a $50,000 grant to The Education Fund to support the Food Forests for Schools Program. The program leverages gardens and Food Forests as outdoor learning laboratories in Miami-Dade County's public elementary schools to instill in children the desire to eat nutritious food while learning to care for the environment.

The Education Fund unveils a pop-up school supply depot on Jan. 24, a move that expands the nonprofit’s reach to teachers and their students in Homestead and surrounding south Miami-Dade County communities of the nation's third-largest public school district.

Linda Lecht, president of The Education Fund, was among the local leaders to launch Miami Leadership Local, a volunteer initiative that seeks to generate discussion and concrete ideas to boost economic mobility across the county.

About 20 Sprouts store employees and other volunteers, including Hadley Principal, Jordana Schneider, teamed up to build a food forest at Charles Hadley Elementary School. It was one of 24 gardens like it that were built nationwide as part of a $500,000 investment in schools across the country by the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation.

The school teamed up with The Education Fund to build the food forest, which will serve as an outdoor classroom and provide fresh greens for school lunches and take-home harvest bags for students.

Thirty years ago, a bond was formed between The Education Fund and Ocean Bank, which to this day continues to grow. What strengthens their connection is the desire to help the community they serve — especially the children.

Charles Hadley Elementary School received the only @sproutsfnd learning garden grant to be awarded in Florida as part of its “24 Gardens in 24 Hours in 24 Communities" initiative. Media specialist Diana Rose submitted the grant on behalf of the school and partnered with The Education Fund Food Forests for Schools to help her plan, plant and oversee the project. The garden now becomes our 30th food forest.

Discover how The Education Fund's Food Forests for Schools – funded by TD Bank via a $1 Million TD Ready Challenge grant – is turning the tide on learning gaps. Learn more in Linda Lecht's Miami Herald editorial.

The Education Fund, a leader in the development of food forest education, is excited to announce the addition of educational exhibits at its four flagship food forests in elementary schools in Miami-Dade County.

Suncoast Credit Union Foundation, The Education Fund and the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations are partnering to offer 40 scholarships to Miami-Dade County Public Schools technical colleges.

FOH® From Our Hearts® teamed up with The Education Fund to proudly sponsor the 2023 Taste of Education event.

Teach-A-Thon volunteer Hector Ponte, Wells Fargo South Florida Branch Banking Region Director stepped into the shoes of second grade teachers at Charles Hadley Elementary School to show students how to create a strong financial foundation that will last them a lifetime.

Talented culinary students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools showcase their talent at the 2023 Taste of Education.

Banking executive Hector J. Ponte recently brought his calculator to a Miami classroom to teach students about financial health.

Ponte is one of 200 business professionals who participated in The Education Fund’s annual five-month campaign called the “Teach-A-Thon.”

Green Jumpstart is coming to Miami and The Education Fund is paving the way. Eligible schools can apply for a $2000 Jumpstart Grant to support school investment in sustainable and impactful school garden programming.

Funds can be used to support garden maintenance, staffing, professional development, and educational resources needed to help build school garden programming that can change the lives of your students.

We're teaming up with Wells Fargo to challenge the business community to take action to support public school teachers through the Teach-A-Thon and the “Have a Heart" campaign.

Veritza Kostovski is the director of the SmartPath Program at the nonprofit The Education Fund. She knows the forms can be confusing and says it’s important to ask for help if you need it.

Linda Lecht, president of The Education Fund, and Eddie Recinos, senior program manager, discuss the pandemic-induced learning loss and how their Food Forests for Schools program, which received a $1 million grant from the TD Ready Challenge, helps students make up for what they've lost on the "Thought Leadership Podcast."

The Education Fund in Miami Lakes helps teachers stock their classrooms by enlisting businesses in South Florida to host supply drives that employees and customers may contribute toward.

The Education Fund was awarded $10,000 from The Children's Trust for the 2022 For the Love of Art Charity Auction & Honoree Celebration presented by Ocean Bank and for the annual Art of Found Objects Exhibition.

It's a sweet end to the school year for the Hot Hawks, one of the big winners of The Education Fund Taste of Education culinary competition and fundraiser.

The Education Fund (EducationFund.org) will honor the achievements of Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Jose L. Dotres and 15 other notable public school alumni, and showcase the artistic talents found in public schools at The Education Fund For the Love of Art Charity Auction & Honoree Celebration presented by Ocean Bank on Thursday, May 26, at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel.

After a two-year hiatus, The Education Fund’s annual Teach-a-Thon, presented by Wells Fargo, and its victory event, the Taste of Education returned. More than 100 business executives stepped into the shoes of a teacher, raising awareness for the need to support our public schools. The Education Fund’s teaching campaign and the event raised a combined $99,000 to support public education in Miami-Dade.

The Education Fund (EducationFund.org) celebrates the culinary dreams and ambitions of public school students at the 2022 Taste of Education on Tuesday, March 15, from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. at historic Hialeah Park, 100 E 32nd St., in Hialeah.

The TD Ready Challenge awarded $1 million grant to The Education Fund, a non-profit in Miami Lakes which supports public school teachers and students in Miami-Dade County.

TD today announced that six U.S. organizations will be awarded grants through the 2021 TD Ready Challenge totaling $3,025,000 USD. The recipients are developing innovative, scalable solutions to assist disproportionately impacted students in grades K-12 across the Bank's Maine-to-Florida footprint who are experiencing pandemic-related learning loss in math and reading.

Nature can often be the best teacher. That's the premise of The Education Fund Inc.'s Edible Outdoor Eco-Labs to Accelerate Learning program. The Education Fund serves more than 350,000 students and families and 20,000 educators throughout Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Florida, which is the fourth largest school district in the United States. About 75% of the student served are considered impoverished based on their qualifying for federal, aid programs during the COVID pandemic, according to Linda Lecht, President of The Education Fund.

More than 100 business professionals test their savvy and skill and teach for an hour in local schools as part of The 2021-22 Teach-A-Thon presented by Wells Fargo.