Dragonfly Thrift Boutique
DRAGONFLY ANNIVERSARY PARTY

Thank you so much to everyone who joined us on the 23rd for a day of celebration! We had a great time chatting with everyone from the community and shopping around! Thanks to your support the store was wiped out!! So now its time to bring us your donations! We need women's clothing, accessories, home decor, kitchen and furniture!

The store front looks incredible with its new mural by Aquarela, so if you have not had the chance to see it, come pay us a visit!
REMEMBER Every Saturday is 25% off the entire store. You do not want to miss out on our latest items!

Follow us on Instagram to keep up with our latest merchandise
The amazing Aquarela and our new mural!
Follow her on instagram @aquarelaart
Thank you Oly for livening up our party with an amazing playlist! @Olyirl
DRAGONFLY THRIFT BOUTIQUE
Graduate Spotlight
Michelle Howson graduated in 2017 with LEAP Class 14; and she is currently the Project Coordinator at the Center for Social Change. We were lucky enough, and are so grateful, that Michelle could help us prepare the LEAP House for the women moving in this month! She did a beautiful paint job; the house now is so bright and welcoming!

Michelle lived in the LEAP House for some time until she found her own place and she said it felt great making the house look nicer and perfect for the next group that would call it home.

Michelle learned a lot during her time in LEAP, but what continues helping her to this day is learning how to let go of the past so she can truly enjoy her life. She wanted to leave a very strong message to the new graduates: "Do not let ANYTHING stop you." By letting go of her past and not letting anything stop her; Michelle has been able to accomplish so much and feels content and in a good place in her life.

We are so happy for you Michelle and will always cheer on your progress!
Thank you for all your continued help!
Volunteer Spotlight
Magdalena Pire Schmidt discovered LEAP when she moved to Miami 6 months ago. She was looking to volunteer in an organization focused on empowering adult women. She knew within 5 minutes of being in Dragonfly Boutique Thrift Store that LEAP was the team she was going to work with.

Prior to Miami, Magdalena worked at Google for over 8 years managing a legal operations team. With a background in management and in tech, Magdalena is used to creating processes that function at a high scale and expand digitally.

Her goal within LEAP is to help set the foundations for scaling in the future. Currently, Magdalena is collaborating with the team to standardize the curriculum to make it replicable. She is also looking for ways of leveraging the latest technology. such as Artificial Intelligence, to help our graduates have access to better career opportunities. Needless to say we would be lost without her technological knowledge and guidance.
LEAP Ambassador Program
Are you a college or high school student interested in
prison and criminal justice reform?
women's empowerment?
social justice?

If so, LEAP invites you to apply to the LEAP Ambassador Program .

The aim of the Ambassador Program is engagement and advocacy on South Florida campuses around LEAP's mission of empowering women transition from prison.

Through this program, students will have the chance to make new friends, build their professional network, learn about the non profit sector and, of course, help make a positive impact in our community.

If you are interested in becoming an Ambassador for LEAP, please fill out the form below and plan to attend our next Volunteer and Ambassador Information Night April 11 @ 6:30 PM.

On the Florida Hill

Here are some bills we think you should keep an eye out for!

  • SB 332/ H 49 - Incarcerated Women (Sen. Pizzo)
This bill is better known as Dignity for Incarcerated Women. It requires correctional facilities to provide incarcerated women with certain health care products, provides requirements for male correctional facility employees in certain circumstances, and requires documentation of certain incidents involving male correctional facility employees.
This bill is currently in Appropriations and is expected to go into effect July 1, 2019!
  • SB 642- Criminal Justice (Sen. Brandes)
Known as the Florida First Step Act. It authorizes the Correctional Education Program to establish a Prison Entrepreneurship Program and adopt procedures for admitting student inmates; requiring a probation officer to determine whether a probationer or offender on community control who commits a technical violation is eligible for a certain alternative sanctioning program. A set of bills on the House side mirror these the Florida First Step Act ( H 705, H 859, H 593, H963 ). This bill would also go into effect July 1, 2019.
  • SB 400 - Mandatory Sentences (Sen. Brandes & Gruters)
Authorizes a court to impose a sentence other than a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment and mandatory fine for a person convicted of trafficking if the court makes certain findings on the record.
  • SB 1334 - Criminal Justice (Sen. Brandes & Bracy)
 Prohibiting the arrest, charge, prosecution, or penalization under specified provisions of a person acting in good faith who seeks medical assistance for an individual experiencing, or believed to be experiencing, an alcohol-related overdose. This act will take effect October 1, 2019.
Upcoming Events
Volunteer Information Nights are held the second Thursday of every month! Join us to learn more about LEAP and how you can volunteer to help out the ladies of LEAP.

The next Volunteer and Ambassador Information Night will be held on Thursday, April 11 @ 6:30 PM

April is the month of second chances; join us for LEAP Community Connection Speaker Series on Thursday, April 25 @ 6:30PM.

The event will take place at Dragonfly Thrift Boutique:
3141 SW 8th Street
Miami, FL 33135
PARKING IN REAR  of Value Storage Facility: code to gate is *7575327# and street parking is available on SW 7th.
The Compassion Project is a photography project which aims to upend the preconceptions our society has about incarcerated women. Who are they? How did they become incarcerated? Who and what have they left behind? What is possible for them now?

The show, scheduled to debut at the Coral Gables Museum June 7, 2019 , will also feature an audio tour component for listening to the women speak of their lives for a more intimate experience of the narratives. The project will be up for exhibit for a period of nine weeks starting June 2019 and open to the community and school groups. Reach out to us for more information and Sponsorship Opportunities!
Engage With Us on Social Media
LADIES EMPOWERMENT AND ACTION PROGRAM
Thank you to our generous supporters!
Over the past 10 years working with women in prison, we at LEAP have learned that if given tools to succeed, most will remain crime free. Those tools include education, access to jobs, mental health and addiction services and housing. Thanks to the support of our community, over the past 2 years LEAP has expanded from an in-prison program, to one that includes housing, employment and other support post release. We have been able to expand our services thanks to community support.

We are proud to announce that the Denise Moon Fund of the Miami Foundation, Capital One Bank and the Miami Foundation Community Grants Program recently awarded LEAP grants to expand our post release services, and to develop a comprehensive paid retail internship for LEAP graduates at the Dragonfly Thrift Boutique.

LEAP is 100% dependent on the generosity of our community. Please consider donating today.
Ladies Empowerment and Action Program | Dragonfly Thrift Boutique | (833) 757 - 5327 | info@leapforladies.org | www.leapforladies.org