Miami Herald - January 1, 2006
Rodolfo R. Roman, rroman@MiamiHerald.com

The nonprofit, which recently held a meet-and-greet with members of the community, offers free services to village residents such as after-school tutoring for students and yoga classes for seniors, and aims to do more as it gets established.

The agency is the result of efforts by former El Portal Mayor Audrey M. Edmonson, now a Miami-Dade County Commissioner who conceived the idea and landed a $350,000 grant from the North Dade Medical Foundation to get El Portal Cares started.

"Edmonson pushed for the grant because she felt a need to help the village students and the large population of elderly," said executive director Linda Marcus, who also serves on El Portal's Village Council.

Richardson, a Miami Shores resident who taught in the Miami-Dade public school system as an elementary teacher for 31 years, is one of two tutors who now works for El Portal Cares.

"I have a great love and passion for [teaching]," said Richardson. "This is a great impact on the kids because we give them more attention."

Six students now attend tutoring classes at the center. One of them, Kechler Polycarpe, an 11th-grader at Miami Northwestern Senior High, says the work is paying off.

"A lot of times, the teacher [in school] gives us work and I don't understand. Here, they teach us the basics and in depth," said Kechler, who is being tutored in algebra. "Because the classes are crowded, the teachers don't have time to teach me the basics."

Kechler attends eight hours a week with his sister Britney, who says she finds the tutoring program helpful because it allows her to go in depth in her reading.

"It helps me out when it comes to the test because I know what to expect. It has really helped out my grades," said Britney, a sixth-grader at Horace Mann Middle School.

In addition to daily tutoring, El Portal cares also offers yoga classes on Mondays afternoons for seniors. Marcus said plans are afoot for more services next year.

"After the year, we plan to give free lunch once a week and open an HIV support group," she said.

El Portal Cares opened its doors in August, and its staff includes executive director Marcus, 10 board members, two tutors and a yoga instructor.

Marcus said a long-term goal is to extend programs to residents of neighboring communities. "The grant we have now is for El Portal residents only, but if we get more, then we can extend it to other residents in other cities," she said.

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