Football Unites is the "newest charity arm" of the Dolphins, and the team has been hosting cultural tours of the area to show students, Dolphins players, community leaders and law enforcement the "richness and diversity that makes South Florida unique," according to Omar Kelly of the South Florida SUN SENTINEL. Nearly 100 local students from "diverse backgrounds" yesterday were able to experience Little Haiti and Liberty City for the first time as part of the program. Dolphins Senior VP/Communications & Community Affairs Jason Jenkins said the initiative aims to "level the playing field to make South Florida healthier, educated and more united." Kelly noted the goal is for the "diverse groups of students" to be able to "grow up interacting with each other and to break down barriers." A dozen or so Dolphins players have "regularly attended the three Football Unites Cultural Tours," which have so far visited the Freedom Tower in downtown Miami and the Little Havana and Overtown neighborhoods. Football Unites last month also "went to the Holocaust Memorial and the Jewish Museum of Florida, and then attended a Rainbow Crosswalk in Miami Beach," as well as visiting the Palace Restaurant and "interacting with the LGBT community." Yesterday, the group "saw the efforts being made to preserve Little Haiti, a community outside of downtown Miami that is in the midst of being gentrified" (SUN-SENTINEL.com, 11/6).
