Children’s Board of Hillsborough County launches job fair for nonprofit partners (Children’s Board)

Each year, Children’s Board of Hillsborough County grants provide crucial financial support to the nonprofit groups and programs working to improve the lives of children and families in the county. In March, the Children’s Board debuted a new initiative to support the organizations that support the community — a job fair specifically for nonprofits.

Held at the Children’s Board’s main offices in Ybor City, the job fair featured 17 nonprofit partners, including Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community Services, Healthy Start Coalition of Hillsborough’s Healthy Families, Champions for Children, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tampa Bay, Caregivers Support Services, and the Children’s Home Network. Their hiring teams and representatives were, of course, looking for candidates with the right skill set. They were also in search of something more.

“In our job, you have to love people,’’ says Children’s Board Family Resource Centers Operations Manager Parisa Khodadadi. “If you are not a people person … this is not a good job for you. Because you’re in contact eight, nine, ten hours a day with the families, with the kids with different disabilities, different backgrounds, so you have to be open to everybody.”

Supporting nonprofits

The Children’s Board, which Hillsborough County voters approved as a special taxing district in a 1988 referendum, expends about 85 percent of its approximately $101.9 million budget on community nonprofit organization programs that help fulfill its mission “to support all children and families in Hillsborough County.’’ Children’s Board Director of Programs Maria Negrón proposed the job fair as a new tool to help those nonprofits. Reviewing their budgets, Negrón says she sees the open positions. She also hears frequently about problems with turnover.

“When I first took this position, it was very clear that we’re a funding agency, but we can do more than that,” Negrón says. “We can share our resources to support them.”

The Children’s Board spread word about the job fair through social media, local chambers of commerce, and other outlets.

Job seeker Shany’iah Fields, who will graduate from the University of South Florida in May with a master’s degree in public health, says she’s looking for a position in her specialty, public education or outreach.

“It’s really just kind of working with the community and helping them to get the resources and all of the support they need,’’ she says. “I’m really interested in postpartum and their young children’s development. Those are very formative years not only for the child but for the mother and the family as a whole, so I really like to support families in that area.’’

At the job fair, she says she’s interested in the Healthy Start Coalition’s Healthy Families program, where she recently interned,  the Children’s Board Family Resource Centers, and Champions for Children.

Samantha Strubing, who has a bachelor’s degree in psychology, says she originally wanted to be a therapist.  But when she started working with children and families, she found her niche in parenting education.

“I worked in a school, and I realized that kids are only there for a short amount of time; it’s really the parents’ work,” Strubing says. “So I’m looking for a position that incorporates family and that connection with community, making sure that kids have the resources to fit their needs.’’

She recently moved from Minneapolis, where she worked for a nonprofit that provides at-school therapeutic services. At the job fair, she says the nonprofit More Health appeals to her because it is more of a school-based position.

“They go in and teach kids those basic skills that they may not have, like brushing teeth, hygiene, sunscreen, all those types of things,’’ Strubing says.

The Spring of Tampa Bay, a nonprofit that works with victims of domestic abuse, has a variety of positions open, says  Human Resources Director Deandrea Thomas. They include teaching positions, managers for the kids’ team, a transitional housing advocate, case managers, crisis support advocates, a maintenance technician, and an attorney, she says.

The work can be  “taxing on your soul,’’ Thomas says, so they seek selfless team members.

Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services has positions available in working with children and families, in refugee programs, mental health, and elderly services, says Jardine Delisca, a workforce acquisition specialist.

Kortney Ferguson, administrative assistant supervisor for Gulf Coast JFCS in Hillsborough County, says they want people with “that human connection,’’ who want to work with children and families.

“When you’re talking about personality, you really just want somebody that wants to make a difference and really wants to help with change, and just be there for their clients and for their families,’’ she says.

For more information, go to Children’s Board 

This story is produced through an underwriting agreement between the Children’s Board of Hillsborough County and 83 Degrees Media