-In recognition of Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month, three MDC campuses will host crucial traveling exhibitions on mental health and suicide prevention-
Miami, Sept. 5, 2024 – Miami Dade College (MDC) will host Changemaker Week, Sept. 16-22, featuring over 100 events spanning MDC’s eight campuses and surrounding communities. This week-long initiative will include a critical interactive exhibition on mental health and suicide prevention, National Voter Registration Day events and lastly the 8th Annual Pink Walk to raise awareness for breast cancer and heart disease. Changemaker Week seeks to spread awareness, engage the community, inspire action, and offer professional development opportunities, all while reinforcing MDC’s changemaker identity and driving meaningful impact.
“We are immensely proud to host a new Changemaker Week at MDC, bringing out the best of our college community with events that tangibly demonstrate how each of us can make a positive impact,” said Dr. Malou C. Harrison, MDC Executive Vice President and Provost. “This is a special event that unites us under the common thread of solidarity, doing good and being our best selves for those around us. It embodies the spirit of service, action, innovation, and connectedness which is at the core of what MDC stands for.”
Designed to focus attention on all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from the United Nations,
Changemaker Week will host workshops, lectures and presentations, interfaith dialogues, wellness activities and service events, among many others.
See below some highlights from MDC Changemaker Week:
JOURNEYS IN CHANGEMAKING: THE HARRY NATHAN GOTTLIEB STORY
In-person at the Wolfson Campus Auditorium, Room 1261
and via Livestream at https://www.mdc.edu/livestream/
Monday, Sept. 16
10 – 10:50 a.m.
Engage in a powerful conversation with tech entrepreneur Harry Nathan Gottlieb – founder of Jellyvision and Jackbox Games, and learn about the journey that led Harry to build Unify America, a nationwide changemaking effort to build empathy and deepen understanding by promoting the power of dialogue. MDC students and faculty already involved with the Unify America College Bowl will share their experiences and insights on how this connection through dialogue impacted them and how it can transform our ability to achieve more together.
SEND SILENCE PACKING® (SSP)
Hialeah Campus, Sept. 20; Homestead Campus, Sept. 19 and North Campus, Sept. 18
9 a.m.- 4 p.m.
During Suicide Prevention Month, MDC will host this national interactive traveling exhibition at North (Sept. 18), Homestead (Sept. 19) and Hialeah (Sept. 20) campuses to raise awareness about mental health suicide prevention. The exhibit consists of a labyrinth of 100 backpacks affixed with stories of loss, struggle, and hope; a Behind the Backpacks virtual storytelling theater; a resource tent and a Hope Wall for students to write affirmations to others who might be struggling. Now entering its 15th year on the road, SSP has connected more than one million visitors in over 350 communities with resources and tools for skills and support. The exhibit serves as a mobilizing force to change the way we think, talk, and feel about mental health, and (perhaps most importantly), how we show up for the people around us. This activity is organized by Active Minds, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization promoting mental health awareness and education for young adults.
NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION DAY
Tuesday, Sept. 17, with various start times throughout the day.
MDC Hialeah, Homestead, Kendall, Medical, North, Padrón, West and Wolfson Campuses.
Please visit the MDC Events Calendar for specific times.
In association with ENGAGE Florida, the Miami-Dade County Elections Department, and Pizza to the Polls, MDC will celebrate the non-partisan civic holiday of National Voter Registration Day across all 8 campuses. This celebration of voting and civic engagement will have music, games, food, and resources available to help students become election ready.
8TH ANNUAL PINK WALK
North Campus, Science Complex
Sunday, Sept. 22, at 7 a.m.
MDC North Campus, in collaboration with The Women’s Breast & Heart Initiative (WBHI), will host the 8th Annual Pink Walk, a charitable event organized with the mission to transform and save lives while providing at-risk women, college students and low-income populations with the resources necessary to beat the odds of breast cancer and heart disease. General admission is $40. Participants receive a T-shirt and a finisher medal. Register at https://runsignup.com/Race/FL/Miami/ThePinkWalk.
For a complete list of Changemaker Week events, visit https://calendar.mdc.edu/changemaker_week.
For more information about Changemaker Week at MDC, please visit www.mdc.edu/changemaking or contact Sandra LaFleur, Director of Changemaker Education and Social Innovation, at slafleur@mdc.edu.