to see the steps the City was taking to expose its citizens to many opportunities,
commending Ms. Cooper for doing a good job. He noted the Jazzin’ in West Ken
Lark event took place right after, featuring wonderful entertainment, and the people
from the community had a good time. The Lauderhill Professional Advisory Board
was doing another headshot day the coming Saturday, where, for $25.00, anyone
could take professional headshots; the previous event was a huge success, and it
was a fundraiser. He was very proud of the City’s youth, and their efforts to stay
connected with their Lauderhill community, putting their best foot forward.
Commissioner Dunn stated the Lauderhill Shines had a graduation of six
businesses from cohort six, bringing the number of graduated businesses close to
80; they were now working on an annual report, and revamping the videos. They
were compiling the waitlist for cohort seven that would start in the fall. She
mentioned Code Ninja, a coding camp for children that opened up in Oakland Park,
hired six Lauderhill young people, some of whom were a part of the Lauderhill Youth
Empowerment series, Hibiscus Girls, and La Rousse, mentioning she toured the
Code Ninja site, where the City’s six children would learn how to code over the
coming weekend. Reminding the Commission of the group of Lauderhill girls she
recently took to Tallahassee, she noted the bill they lobbied for passed
unanimously, and would soon be signed into law by the Governor; because of their
lobbying efforts, all high schools and middle schools in the State of Florida would
have the chance to place sanitary products in girls’ bathrooms. She expressed
pride in the girls who participated in the effort. Commissioner Dunn indicated May 8
was Teacher Appreciation Spa Day at Royal Palm Elementary; they partnered with
Florida Academy for Hair and Beauty, with volunteers going to Royal Palm to do
manicures and facials for the teachers. She was pleased to be able to pamper the
teachers in this way. She mentioned the Lauderhill Health and Prosperity (LHPP)
hosted a mixer and meeting at Florida Medical Center (FMC), thanking Mayor
Thurston and Commissioner L. Martin for attending, along with the work by, and the
presence of the City Manager and her staff; the meeting had good turnout, and
productive dialog. It said a lot when some of the City administration’s brightest
minds sat around the table with residents and business owners to solve some of
the challenges being faced. She mentioned in 2022 they did a Mommy Makeover
collaboration with Lauderhill Shines companies; they elected to do the event again
in 2023, so anyone who knew of single mothers and teachers serving the City of
Lauderhill should apply to nominate them on the City website: Lauderhill.gov/mom;
nominations would be accepted until May 19, 2023. In 2022, again partnering with
the Florida Academy of Beauty, as well as Truly Rooted, a Lauderhill Shines
business participant, they did hair, makeup, and nails, which they would do again,
after which the ladies would be taken to Nailed It DIY Studio for a women’s
empowerment brunch and flowers, and a chance to make a project; the actual
activities would take place at the end of May. She mentioned on Saturday, June 3,
2023, the First Annual Lauderhill Walk for Peace would take place, as June was
Gun Violence Awareness Month; the event would begin at the Lauderhill Police
Department, and march to City Hall, where a press conference would be held, after
which activities would move into a resource fair. At the Resource Fair would be
community partners offering such services as: healthcare screenings, mental
health resources, rental assistance, etc., and there would be a raffle that a
Lauderhill resident present at the event, and who visited some of the booths, could
win $1,500.00 towards rent or mortgage, or $500.00 toward their water bill. This
was being done in collaboration with the Health Foundation of South Florida, one of
the current, primary investors in LHPP, Simply Healthcare Humana, and Banyan
Health Systems.
