Student-made art helps raise more than $100,000 for Miami-Dade schools

Miami-Dade County Public Schools students and teachers turned donated supplies into auction art that raised more than $100,000 at The Education Fund’s For The Love of Art event at Jungle Island on May 18. The fundraiser also highlighted alumni achievements and supported arts education and classroom materials across the district.

Why it matters: - The auction turned surplus supplies into direct funding for Miami-Dade County public school students and classrooms. - The event supported arts education and The Education Fund Ocean Bank Center for Educational Materials, which has delivered more than $32 million worth of materials to public school classrooms since it opened. - The Education Fund has raised $99 million for Miami-Dade County Public Schools students since the 1984–85 school year.

What happened: - Miami-Dade County Public Schools students’ creations were featured at The Education Fund’s For The Love of Art Charity Auction & Honoree Celebration on May 18, 2026, at Jungle Island in Miami. - The event raised more than $100,000 for public school students. - Ocean Bank presented the event. - The Education Fund also held its annual Alumni Achievement Awards to recognize community and business leaders who graduated from Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

The details: - The auction featured two categories: Art of Found Objects and Beyond the Page. - Art of Found Objects showcased work made from donated surplus materials. - Beyond the Page was a new paper art category funded by a grant from the Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation. - The Beyond the Page initiative brought paper into Miami-Dade County Public Schools classrooms as an artistic medium and expanded arts programming across the district. - Teachers picked up free supplies at The Education Fund Ocean Bank Center for Educational Materials and brought items such as fabrics, paint, glass tiles, cigar boxes and discarded furniture back to their classrooms. - Teachers and students then transformed those materials into auction pieces. - Attendees heard live music, had an open bar, joined hands-on art activations and ate an epicurean feast while bidding on luxury items and student- and teacher-made artwork. - Speakers and presenters included Miami-Dade County Public Schools leaders, Ocean Bank executives, Amazon community engagement leadership, and local civic and business figures. - The 2026 Public School Alumni Achievement Award honorees included 17 graduates from sectors including banking, law, health care, education, media and hospitality. - Major support came from Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation, Amazon, The Kirk Foundation, Peacock Foundation, Knight Foundation, Ken O'Keefe and Jason Stephens, South Florida Business Journal, and Miami Herald. - The Education Fund said its initiatives also include Florida’s first free school-supply warehouse, Food Forests for Schools and a college-and-career program called SmartPath to Life.

Between the lines: - The fundraiser framed student art as proof that donated classroom resources can become both creative output and community support. - School and nonprofit leaders used the event to show how private-sector funding can expand what public schools offer without waiting for district budgets to catch up. - The new paper art category suggests the program is broadening beyond reused objects into more classroom materials and formats. - Public celebration of student work also served as a way to validate Miami-Dade students’ creativity in front of business and civic leaders.

What’s next: - The Education Fund said proceeds will go back into classroom support and arts education. - The organization will continue its non-profit programming through educationfund.org and its school-materials warehouse. - The alumni awards and art auction are positioned as ongoing efforts to connect private donors, public schools and student creators.

The bottom line: - Miami-Dade students turned donated supplies into art, and that art turned into funding, visibility and more classroom resources.