Enhancing Children’s Lives in Miami through the Miami Children’s Museum

Each year in February, the Miami Children’s Museum (MCM) hosts a fun fundraiser called “Be a Kid Again” featuring a playful theme. Designed for adults, the fundraiser typically raises between $700,000 and $1 million for the museum.

A Favorite Charity of the Real Estate Community 

Miami’s real estate community regularly participates in the planning and execution of the MCM charity gala. In 2019, Realtor Claudette Rickett and her husband, Ted Schwartz sponsored the event, while in 2024, real estate professional Maya Vander co-chaired the event. The museum offers children’s educational and summer camps, which contribute to the opportunities that Miami can offer its residents. Community amenities such as the museum help attract individuals and families to South Florida.

Always a Creative Theme 

MCM launched this fundraiser, which changes themes each year, in 2004. Each gala offers dancing, dining, and entertainment. In 2019, its “Leap into the Future” theme featured dancers clad in neon astronaut suits, planetary decor, and pinball machines with futuristic storylines. The 2024 event drew inspiration from the children’s board game, “Candyland,” using the game’s name as its theme. A candy swing, a table of custom candies, and an interactive theater performance from the CMC Theater Troupe created the ambiance for the March 9th party.

Programs the Fundraisers Make Possible 

The annual fundraisers help fund the Museum’s outreach programs, preschool, early childhood education programs, after-school clubs, and its five camps: 

• Campsgiving 
• One-day camps 
• Spring camp 
• Summer camp 
• Winter camp. 

They also provide operating capital for its kindergarten through fifth-grade charter school, one of two such museum-operated schools in the U.S. The Miami Children’s Museum Charter School maintains small classrooms and a student body of about 310 students. CMC also hosts field trips for other schools for groups of 25 to 27 students.

Who Attends the Gala? 

While the individuals attending each year’s fundraiser change, the Museum limits attendance to 700 guests every year. Those in attendance range from Miami socialites to parents of the children who attend its charter school. Vacationers sometimes attend the glitzy gala to experience some of Miami’s often-talked-about nightlife. The Museum plans the event for individuals 21 years old and older, and it does check identification.

How to Help MCM 

Attending one of its annual fundraisers offers an easy way to contribute to the success of the Museum. If you can’t make it to Miami for the “Be a Kid Again” fundraiser, make a donation to CMC using its website.