HEAT Community Affairs: Foundation

Miami HEAT Charitable Fund Mission Statement

Established in 1997, the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund supports programs for the betterment of at-risk families in South Florida. Beneficiaries include SafeSpace, a domestic violence shelter for women and children, the Jackson Memorial Foundation’s Guardian Angels and Holtz Children’s Hospital, and the Miami Coalition for a Safe and Drug-Free Community.

The Miami HEAT Charitable Fund also provides educational scholarships for high school seniors and partners with inner-city elementary schools to fund the HEAT Academy, which provides after-school tutoring and mentoring programs. Through these initiatives, the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund continues to inspire the youth of South Florida to envision their dreams and achieve their goals.

Home Strong
Established in 2006, Home Strong is an ongoing program that salutes and honors the courageous men and women in uniform for their dedication to the United States Armed Forces. Pat Riley and the Miami HEAT created this initiative as a means of demonstrating support and paying tribute to our soldiers and veterans. The program is currently working and planning to further assist with the unmet needs of military personnel and their families who have returned back from Iraq and Afghanistan and reside in the South Florida area.

Miami HEAT Family Festival
The Miami HEAT Family Festival is a themed, interactive, carnival-like celebration in which HEAT players, coaches, celebrities and 250 families come together for a day of family and fun in an effort to raise vital dollars for local charities. In addition to the fanfare at the event, top restaurants from South Florida create a memorable dining “Food Court” extravaganza. The 14th Annual event will take place on March 20, 2011. In addition to this, the Foundation has served as host to the Celebrity / Team Dinner & Concert.

HEAT Scramble Golf Classic
The Annual HEAT Scramble Golf Classic has offered golfers an opportunity to tackle some of the most prominent golf courses around town, such as Don Shula’s in Miami Lakes, the Blue Monster at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa and most recently, the Miccosukee Golf & Country Club. All net proceeds benefit the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund. This season’s event will feature appearances by current HEAT players and plans to be the largest golf event ever hosted by the Fund.

Miami HEAT Celebrity Cook-Off
This unique fundraising event gives fans the opportunity to have a HEAT player become their Benihana Chef for the evening. Each HEAT player is assigned to cook for a table, as proceeds raised for the event benefits the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund and Best Buddies. This year’s event will take place on February 1, 2011.

Annual Toy / Food Drive
The spirit of giving continues year round for the Miami HEAT through the Annual Toy / Food Drive. Historically, the HEAT and its fans have brought in canned food and toys for Food Drives to benefit Curley’s House of Style, a food pantry in Liberty City that serves over 1,000 people each day. The toys are distributed to the HEAT’s local beneficiaries to support at-risk youth.

HEAT Family Charity Group
The Miami HEAT Family Charity Group, established in conjunction with the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund, consists of members including wives of active HEAT coaches, players, select senior executive management as well as player mothers and family. The group works closely together with the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund to assist the South Florida community through activities including the organization of various fundraising efforts, the Annual SafeSpace Holiday Outreach initiative, the Domestic Violence Prevention Walk and other numerous hours of volunteer contributions.