For 25 years, the Embrace Girls Foundation has been helping young girls across South Florida succeed in the classroom and beyond. 

The non-profit continues to empower thousands of students through education, mentorship, and community support.

“We are a year a year-round program, and so immediately after school, every single day during the school year, we have classrooms that they come into,” said Velma Lawrence, the founder and CEO of The Embrace Girls Foundation. “We have certified teachers and teaching assistants that assist them with their homework.”

Lawrence grew up in Liberty City and said she wanted to create experiences for young girls she didn’t have as a child.

“I just wanted to give them an opportunity to see the world, because we travel with them, to experience various cultures because we do that, and to primary understand that their education is the key,” she said.

The Embrace Girls Foundation also offers pop-up camps at schools in South Florida from Homestead to Dania Beach.

“If they don’t have self-confidence, they’re not going to raise their hand in class, they’re not going to stand up for themselves, they’re not going to advocate for a friend,” Lawrence said. “And so today we talked about self-confidence and self-esteem and loving yourself.”

The foundation has impacted more than 10,000 girls, including Ariel Rucker. She joined the program in third grade and now mentors the next generation.

“Her purpose of empowering girls has made me find my purpose of empowering other girls. And I see myself in these other girls,” Rucker said.

For Lawrence, the mission extends beyond academics.

“We’re not just an afterschool program,” Lawrence said. “We are watching, daily, quarterly what these girls are doing, and then what’s needed in the family and then what the school needs.”

A mission that’s empowered thousands of young girls and continues to shape future generations across South Florida.

The Miami Heat are bringing a familiar name back to South Florida.

The Heat announced Monday that the team has signed veteran guard Tim Hardaway Jr.. As is team policy, the club did not disclose the terms of the agreement.

“Hardaway is obviously a great name around here,” Heat President Pat Riley said in a statement. “Tim Jr. is one of the most explosive shooters in the league and a player we have long coveted. We are thrilled to finally be able to bring him home.”

The move marks a homecoming for Hardaway Jr., who attended Miami Palmetto Senior High School before beginning a 13-year NBA career.

Last season with the Denver Nuggets, Hardaway Jr. appeared in 80 games, making six starts, and averaged 13.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 26.6 minutes per game. He shot a career-best 40.7% from three-point range while connecting on 224 three-pointers — the second-most in a single season in Nuggets franchise history.

Hardaway Jr. scored in double figures 57 times during the season, including 17 games with at least 20 points and one 30-point outing. He also knocked down multiple three-pointers in 57 games, including 13 contests with five or more made shots from beyond the arc.

Over his NBA career, Hardaway Jr. has played in 893 regular-season games, including 428 starts. He owns career averages of 13.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists while shooting 36.5% from three-point range and 81.5% from the free-throw line.

The veteran has reached the playoffs seven times and was part of an NBA Finals team in 2024.

His return to Miami carries added significance because of his family legacy. Hardaway Jr. is the son of Tim Hardaway, whose No. 10 jersey hangs in the rafters at Kaseya Center. The younger Hardaway will also wear No. 10 with the Heat, continuing a number synonymous with one of the franchise’s most celebrated players.

The signing adds veteran experience and perimeter shooting to Miami’s roster as the Heat continue preparing for the upcoming NBA season.

MIAMI — Christian Martinez was at the Metrowest Detention Center on Monday, facing charges for stealing three gold bracelets, a gold chain, a pair of shoes, and $100 at gunpoint after a crash in Miami, records show.

Martinez, who turns 30 on Wednesday, was driving his gray Honda Odyssey when he crashed in the Liberty City neighborhood, threatened two victims, and “displayed a silver handgun that was tucked in his waistband,” according to the police report.

While demanding cash, Martinez, of Allapattah, grabbed the gun and pointed it at the victim’s rib cage before also using the firearm to strike him “across the face,” according to the police report.

One of the victims escaped, and the other was injured during the armed robbery shortly after 4:10 a.m. on June 28 at Northwest Seventh Avenue and 52 Street, according to the police report.

“I obtained CCTV footage that captured the entirety of the robbery,” a Miami detective wrote, according to the police report.

Surveillance video shows Martinez at the Shell gas station at 5343 NW 7th Ave., before the armed robbery on June 28, and license plate readers show him “traveling northbound through the intersection of Northwest Second Avenue and 54 Street at 4:15 a.m., according to police.

Martinez’s face “can be clearly seen in this video,” a police officer wrote about the surveillance at the gas station, according to the police report.

Miami police officers arrested Martinez at 7 p.m. on July 2 at Northwest Sixth Avenue and 69 Street, and found a firearm in the car, according to the police report.

Corrections booked Martinez, also known as Christian Martinezguerra, shortly before 10:05 p.m. on July 2 at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

Martinez-Guerra faced two felony charges in Miami-Dade County: Armed robbery with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. A judge placed a pre-trial detention hold.

Local 10 News Assignment Editor Mercedes Cevallos contributed to this report.

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