01 Aug Important News From The Mourning Family Foundation

MIAMI – August 1, 2013 – Mourning Family Foundation, a not-for-profit organization supporting youth development and education programs, including Overtown Youth Center and Honey Shine, has announced the resignation of Towalame Austin as President of the organization. Austin, who was appointed president in May 2012, successfully helped the foundation re-launch their new brand and website, cultivated and developed a new board of directors, and helped establish new organizational policies and procedures. During her tenure, Austin was instrumental along with the Board of Directors in raising over $1.5 million dollars to assist with programming efforts of the Mourning Family Foundation. Ms. Austin is highly regarded in the sector for promoting and advocating for the importance of organizational and professional development. She will be relocating back to Los Angeles to start a new position and be closer to her family. “My decision to resign from the Mourning Family Foundation was extremely difficult. I strongly believe in the work Alonzo and Tracy are doing in communities across the country. I will continue be an advocate and supporter of the Mourning’s and the Mourning Family Foundation.”  Towalame Austin

The Mourning Family Foundation appoints Bill Diggs as Austin’s successor.  Diggs, who is the former President and CEO of the Miami Dade Chamber of Commerce, led the Chamber for 8 years. Through his leadership Diggs accumulated several accomplishments for the Chamber, such as winning the SBA Minority Advocate of the Year for Small Business, winning the Orange Bowl Committee Small Business Trailblazer award and most recently he endorsed South Beach ACE in its successful winning bid to overhaul the Miami Beach Convention Center. As the former Chair of the Board of Directors for the Mourning Family Foundation (formerly Alonzo Mourning Charities), Diggs brings an intimate knowledge of the foundation’s current mission along with a vast network of strategic relationships to further support the Mourning’s goal of creating a better tomorrow by investing in the youth of today.

“We are extremely pleased with Ms. Austin’s contributions during her tenure with MFF. As we continue to advance our efforts towards enhancing the lives of children and families our main focus is to establish a strong level of stability that will allow us to continue to grow our efforts. We feel that the hiring of Mr. Diggs as President is ideal based on his knowledge and continued activism in the Miami community.” Alonzo and Tracy Mourning

 About Mourning Family Foundation

Since 1997, the Mourning’s have raised more than $10 million for their charity initiatives including, Overtown Youth Center, a state-of-the-art facility that serves as a safe haven for children and families to participate in recreational and educational activities from 2nd grade through graduation, and Honey Shine, which provides at-risk young women with positive role models and influences through its enrichment programs, workshops, camps and sisterhood.

For more information visit:  mourningfamilyfoundation.org.