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The Miami Heat, NBA and State Farm announced on Tuesday a $45,000 contribution to the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition’s Current Fines & Fees Program.
The grant will aid the FRRC’s efforts to reinstall the right to vote for returning citizens who face financial obligations and barriers to vote from felony convictions, which is part of a larger goal to end disenfranchisement and discrimination against people with convictions.
The contribution was announced at a drive-thru feeding event for families in South Florida who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Heat legend Glen Rice and FRRC executive director Desmond Meade were among those that helped distribute fresh food to 600 families.
Meade has worked closely with LeBron James, Udonis Haslem and More Than A Vote in the past to help restore voting rights for ex-felons. The FRRC helped successfully pass Amendment 4 in 2018, which lifted Florida’s lifetime voting ban on people with felony convictions.
The Heat invited members of both Feeding South Florida and the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition to attend Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday as virtual fans, sitting courtside while the team takes on the Los Angeles Lakers at 9:00 p.m. ET on ABC.
As a grassroots membership organization, FRRC is dedicated to ending the disenfranchisement and discrimination against people with convictions and creating a more comprehensive and humane reentry system that will reduce recidivism and increase public safety.
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