Fanm Ayisyen nan Miyami (FANM), Kreyòl for “Haitian Women in Miami,” is one of the most prominent and active Haitian community organizations in South Florida.

Based on NE 82^nd Street in the heart of Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood, the group provides the Haitian community with job, language and computer training, counseling on gender violence, immigration, and economic development, as well as assistance in getting physical/mental healthcare and housing.

FANM is also deeply engaged in advocacy, championing dozens of issues ranging from the Dream Act, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and the Family Reunification Parole Program to curbing Little Haiti’s gentrification, reducing nursing-home patient-to-nurse ratios, fighting wage theft, and opposing the deportation and persecution of Haitians and Haitian-ancestry citizens in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.

FANM is led by the dynamic Marleine Bastien, a mother, former congressional candidate, and long-time activist who has received many honors, including the “Human Rights Award” of Amnesty International and the “Ms. Woman of the Year Award.”

Founded in 1991 by a group of Haitian women, it was until 2000 a purely volunteer organization. But FANM has grown today into a full-fledged social service organization with a large multilingual staff of administrators, organizers, and teachers.

Therefore, like most community organizations, FANM is in dire need of funding to keep its work alive.

Enter “Give Miami Day,” which is the biggest annual giving event in South Florida.  For 24 hours on Nov. 19, individuals can view online profiles of more than 500 nonprofit organizations serving Miami-Dade County and make a charitable gift between $25 to $10,000 at www.givemiamiday.org. FANM is one of the most worthy of those organizations, and any donation made to it will be matched by the Miami Foundation.