PHILANTHROPIC
LIANA AND CARLOS DE MENA
HIGHLIGHTS FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT COMPANY
Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) is the largest energy company in the United States, as measured by retail electricity produced and sold, serving more than five million customer accounts or an estimated 10 million+ people across the state of Florida. Beyond serving as one of the most trusted U.S. electric utilities, FPL is passionate about making a positive impact through philanthropy. A $1 million donation from the organization is benefiting Miami Cancer Institute’s Pediatric Radiation Oncology Program, which is also assisted by the Live Like Bella® Childhood Cancer Foundation. FPL is playing an essential role in helping maintain proton therapy, which reduces damage to the body caused from radiation. People with cancer who receive radiation treatment, especially children, are at risk for permanent damage to their healthy organs. Thanks to FPL, their generosity will ensure that more children will have access to receiving proton therapy, decreasing their chances of unnecessary tissue damage, which can result in major stunting and lifelong side effects. Both FPL and Baptist Health share a common goal – pursuing excellence through continuous improvement and constantly striving to seek out new technology to improve the service we provide to our community.
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MIAMI DOLPHINS FOUNDATION Through the generosity of the Miami Dolphins Foundation, Baptist Health and the Dolphins organization have once again aligned to make a difference in the community. With a $1.5 million gift from the Miami Dolphins Foundation, Miami Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute’s Youth Athletic Outreach Program is receiving the support needed to continue providing athletic trainers at every varsity football game in Miami-Dade County, voluntary EKGs to all student-athletes, preparticipation screenings, baseline testing, conditioning tests and continuing education in sports medicine. Because no athlete or school is ever charged for these professional services, funding is essential. The generosity demonstrated by The Miami Dolphins Foundation makes certain that the program can continue reaching as many student-athletes as possible, preventing injuries, growing the game of football and emphasizing to the community that the safety of our youth athletes is important. The Dolphins organization is committed to making a positive impact throughout South Florida and the expansion of this longstanding partnership with Baptist Health symbolizes the importance both organizations place in making sure our community stays healthy, educated and united to keep our youth football programs safe.
FPL’s partnership with Baptist Health will help Miami Cancer Institute continue extending this innovative proton therapy treatment to the children in our community. Our children are tomorrow’s leaders, and no child should ever be robbed of his or her youth because of the grim diagnosis of cancer. Proton therapy is ideal for treating pediatric cancer because its precision minimizes unwanted side effects. Effective and efficient proton therapy helps shorten treatment times so our children can get back to being children.
We are proud to partner with Baptist Health South Florida on this important program. Their initiatives align with our core pillars of supporting youth sports and specifically, safety in youth football. We look at this commitment as just the beginning to a stronger philanthropic partnership moving forward where we can impact the community in a big way together.
– Eric Silagy, FPL President & CEO
– Tom Garfinkel, Miami Dolphins Vice Chairman & CEO
Baptist Health Foundation 2019
Shortly after Liana and Carlos de Mena celebrated their first wedding anniversary, they received exciting news – they were expecting a baby. The soon to be parents’ world shifted when their eldest son, Carlos Ray, was born at 25 weeks, weighing only 2 lbs. 1 oz. Their son spent three months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Baptist Hospital of Miami, and they sat at his bedside each and every day. Today, Carlos Ray is nine years old and is stronger than ever. Liana and Carlos are eternally grateful for the ways Baptist Health cares for families like theirs and to express their gratitude, they donated $60,000 to the NICU at Baptist Hospital in honor of their son. For their family, philanthropy means generosity in action, it means being part of building a better future for their loved ones. By supporting the NICU, Liana and Carlos are helping to increase the quality of care provided by the unit so that other families can experience watching their children grow up in the same way they have watched Carlos Ray. The support Liana and Carlos received from their doctors, nurses and support staff while Carlos Ray was being cared for at Baptist Hospital gave them the confidence to try for babies’ number two and three. Today, they are a family of five with three healthy children. Giving to Baptist honors our son – his first breath, his first step, his first word, the childhood he has been able to have; Baptist made that possible for our family. Our pledge honors the people that helped us when we most needed it. Giving to Baptist Health honors our family – the promise of our future and the memory of our past. – Liana and Carlos de Mena
ROSARIO RICO-TORO KORN Rosario Rico-Toro Korn became involved with Baptist Health after her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Upon her mother’s diagnosis, Rosario brought her mother from Bolivia to seek treatment at Miami Cancer Institute. After receiving treatment from the Institute, her mother is now proudly cancer-free and Rosario has shown her appreciation for the care given to her mother through philanthropy. After discussions with Gouindarajan Narayanan, M.D., chief of interventional oncology at Miami Cancer Institute and interventional radiologist at Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute, Rosario took the initiative and made a $100,000 gift in support of a new CT scan, which will help guide physicians during laparoscopic procedures. By being the first to make a donation in support of a new CT Scan, Rosario is leading the way for others to contribute and showing us all the importance of giving back. With a new CT Scan, which will be entirely funded by donations, physicians will have the opportunity to treat cancer via image guided, minimally invasive procedures. Philanthropy has always been important to Rosario. As a parent, she instills in her children the importance of giving back to one’s community and striving to make a meaningful difference. She also takes immense pride in seeing miracles brought forward by philanthropy to positively touch and enrich lives. Rosario now serves on the Baptist Health Foundation Board of Directors, Miami Cancer Institute Council and the Baptist Health International Services Council. I give to Baptist Health primarily because of the incredible care my mother received at Miami Cancer Institute during her fight with cancer. Additionally, I support Baptist because of its undeniable commitment to comfort and quality healthcare from South Florida’s best doctors. – Rosario Rico-Toro Korn
