MIAMI – An out-of-town trip is in jeopardy for a group of youth in Miami's Overtown neighborhood who rely on a mentoring program to steer clear of South Florida's crime-ridden streets.
The Overtown Tornadoes track-and-field program, a 501c3 group, was started by veteran Miami police Officer Malcolm Moyse.
Moyse is a community police officer who grew up on the streets of Overtown, but he created the program to help children from 4-18 years old avoid the temptations of drugs and gangs.
"This practice for me has been about 21 years," Moyse said. "I've seen the results. I have a lot of good results."
Moyse is now a familiar site on the same Overtown streets while working as a community policing officer.
Moyse's program targets impoverished youth, so the organization relies heavily on community donations for uniforms, equipment and travel. The group is slated to leave Tuesday for a national competition at Walt Disney World, but so far the organization has fallen short of its $7,000 goal for money raised.
"It's not even about them competing. It's about getting them out of one environment and getting to experience another type of environment," Moyse said.
The group's mission is to train kids, set dreams and goals while building a good work ethic. Time is ticking on the vital mentoring trip that could leave dozens of kids stranded at home.
"I'm very confident that somebody in the public can have a heart and understand the kids, what they'll go through if they're not allowed to go to the trip," Moyse said.
The Tornadoes have created a GoFundMe page to help reach their goal.
All donations can be written out to Miami Tornadoes Inc., or feel free to contact Moyse at MiamiTornadoesInc@gmail.com.