MWYF'S OFFICIAL EXCALIBUR PROJECT PARTNERS

In early 2020, representatives from MagicWaste Youth Foundation and Citrus FCN came together to lay the base for the comprehensive program partnership that would drive and grow the EXCALIBUR YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PROJECT into the future. 

Led by Citrus Health Network President & CEO Mario Jardón (photo above) and a team of dedicated and caring professionals, Citrus Family Care Network (Citrus FCN) is a division of Citrus Health Network and serves as the Community Based Care (CBC) Lead Agency for child welfare services in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. The Florida Department of Children and Families contracted Citrus FCN in mid-2019 to provide child welfare services for children who have been abused, neglected and/or abandoned. 

Under this partnership, Citrus FCN works hand-in-hand with MWYF in identifying candidates from its roster of young adults (18 to 23 years old) who are in the process of aging out of the foster care system or have already done so for participation in EXCALIBUR PROJECT's housing subsidies and other beneficial programs, like the financial literacy seminars.

MWYF and Citrus Family Care Network jointly oversee the former  foster youth’s performance as he/she participates in the EXCALIBUR 

PROJECT, ensuring that all standards and requirements are upheld and that the young person's wellbeing and progress is assured.

The young men and women proposed for inclusion in the EXCALIBUR PROJECT are former foster kids —many of whom are homeless or living in dire, dangerous or unstable circumstances— who demonstrate a solid growth potential and express the willingness to put in the effort to study and work and rise above his/her circumstances.

Once identified as potential candidates, Citrus FCN and MWYF manage a meticulous applicant selection process, for which candidates must meet or exceed EXCALIBUR’s pre-requisites, including but not limited to:  age (18 - 23 years old); enrollment in college, certificate studies or vocational training; high performance (grades); personal conduct; volunteer work and other considerations.

It is important to note that MWYF, through its EXCALIBUR Project and Miami-Dade College scholarship programs, is an EQUAL OPPORTUNITY GRANTOR and does not discriminate based on gender, race/ethnicity, origin, religion, or any other status. 

Potential EXCALIBUR candidates and recipients are selected by need as well as the aforementioned qualifications and requirements. They are paired with funding from MWYF benefactors, whose dedicated donations subsidize the young adult’s rent for twelve (12) months.