New initiative #SparkingAhaMoments fulfills challenge from President Obama
By Carolyn McKecuen
March 31, 2016
Elizabeth City, NC – Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work® (TODASTW) Foundation announced today it will be offering year-long curriculum options. The Foundation will roll out the curriculum delivery to children and mentees (aka “Littles”) with one of their new partners, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA). The new customizable curriculum that is #SparkingAhaMoments will be available to businesses, families, schools, and organizations three weeks prior to Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day —Thursday, April 28, 2016—and throughout the year at the www.DaughtersAndSonsToWork.org website.
Each year, more than 3.5 million American workplaces open their doors to over 39 million employees and their children on TODASTW Day. Over the past decade, numerous communities and schools have loved the program so much they asked for year-round options for participation.
In April 2015, the White House hosted 200 youth from underserved communities in the Washington, D.C. area. At that time, President Obama officially called for the program’s expansion asking employers to reach out to young people who don’t have a workplace to visit. See Obama’s TODASTW video address on YouTube and the White House blog entry.
President Obama made one thing very clear: We must embrace all youth in our efforts to counter the widening knowledge gap between what students are taught in the classroom and what they need to know to be successful in the workplace. In response, the TODASTW Foundation forged a partnership with BBBSA.
The new year-round activity guides available to all daughters, sons, and BBBSA “Littles” include business, creativity, science, money management, and other lifestyle content:
- Activity guides for elementary, middle, and high school students are developed each year by the TODASTW Foundation and its sponsors. These guides introduce engaging activities designed to build confidence as well as highlight the history of this time-honored tradition. The Bright Ideas Guide, previously available for purchase, is now downloadable for free and perfect for workplace coordinators.
- The National Foundation for Financial Education’s High School Planning Program provides five activity guides focusing on financial literacy. The Student Guide is the introductory lesson. Supplementary guides address topics such as Earning Power, Education Options, Achieving Goals: Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down, Accomplishments and Career Planning.
- Award-winning producer and director Barnet Bain gives us the techniques we need to get the most out of our creative selves. Jumpstarting Creativity is the curriculum developed by the Oscar-winning film producer, Columbia University faculty member and author of “The Book of Doing and Being: Rediscovering Creativity in Life, Love and Work.” There is an elementary and junior high guide as well as a teen and adults creativity guide.
- CareerGirls.org, a free noncommercial online platform which showcases video clips of diverse women role models, developed the 2016 Career Girls Event Facilitator Guide that incorporates their dynamic website.
- Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Foundation collaborated with The Engineering Place at North Carolina State University to develop three hands-on activity guides that focus solely on STEM Education for school age youth. Each of these guides places emphasis on the engineering design process and teaches students how to overcome obstacles through creativity and teamwork. There are three guides: Challenge L1 STEM Guide, Challenge L2 STEM Guide and Challenge L3 STEM Guide.
- The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and the Young Entrepreneur Foundation (YEF) promotes the lessons of free enterprise to build the next generation of small business owners and entrepreneurs.
All these materials can be accessed at the TODASTW Foundation Activity Guides website page.
The 2016 theme is #SparkingAhaMoments. Participants are encouraged to post video, photos and other online posts about how they have been inspired to pursue their career inspirations, as well as conversations with children such as, “How do you think this item on my desk helps me do my job?” Please tag all online posts with #SparkingAhaMoments.
About Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work: Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work® encourages girls and boys across the country to dream without gender limitations and to think imaginatively about their family, work and community lives. This national, public education program connects what children learn at school with the actual working world. Children learn that a family-friendly work environment is an employer and family issue and not just a gender or age issue. Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work helps girls and boys across the nation discover the power and possibilities associated with a balanced work and family life. www.DaughtersAndSonsToWork.org
About Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: Big Brothers Big Sisters provides children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one mentoring relationships that change their lives for the better, forever. Big Brothers Big Sisters ensures that the children in its program achieve such measurable outcomes as educational success, avoidance of risky behaviors, higher aspirations, greater confidence and better relationships. This mission has been the cornerstone of the organization’s 111-year history. With over 300 agencies across the country, Big Brothers Big Sisters serves nearly 170,000 children (“Littles”), their families and 170,000 volunteer mentors (“Bigs”). Learn more at www.BigBrothersBigSisters.org
