Miami Dolphins tour helps expose students to different cultures, events

Students begin first trip Tuesday at Miami Beach Holocaust Memorial

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Several children got an eye-opening experience Tuesday thanks in part to the Miami Dolphins.

It's all part of the Miami Dolphins' Football Unites tour, a program that exposes children to different cultures and events they otherwise wouldn't get to experience.

The group began Tuesday's trip with a history lesson at the Miami Beach Holocaust Memorial.

"On that morning, we heard rifle butts banging on the door," Holocaust survivor Laszlo Selly told the children. 

It was a powerful message from a Holocaust survivor hoping to open the eyes and minds of those taking part in the latest Football Unites cultural tour.

The group -- made up of six kids from three community groups, as well as several Dolphins players, alumni and staff -- heard emotional stories of survival at the Miami Beach Holocaust Memorial.

"This generation of students that come here to the memorial, they will probably be the last generation that will meet a survivor face to face, and they'll be able to say to their children, 'I know this happened. I met a survivor,'" said Sharon Horowitz, executive director of the Miami Beach Holocaust Memorial. 

The group also received a special welcome from the Israeli consul general.

"If there's one thing we can hope these kids will take out of it, is a term called Tikkun Olam, or repairing the world, making the world a better place," Consul General Lion Haiat said. 

It was a message that will hopefully stick with these kids for a lifetime.

"What's your biggest takeaway up to this point?" Local 10 News reporter Trent Kelly asked one student. 

"To not take anything for (granted)," Jeremiah Dorleans said. "Just to be appreciative for everything."

The Holocaust Memorial was just the first stop on Tuesday's tour. After leaving there, the students headed to the Jewish Museum before ending their day at the famous Rainbow Crosswalk.

It's an experience organizers hope will stay with the students for a lifetime.


About the Author:

Trent Kelly is an award-winning multimedia journalist who joined the Local 10 News team in June 2018. Trent is no stranger to Florida. Born in Tampa, he attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he graduated with honors from the UF College of Journalism and Communications.