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Children\u2019s Board of Hillsborough County launches job fair for nonprofit partners (Children\u2019s Board)<\/p>\nChildren\u2019s Board of Hillsborough County launches job fair for nonprofit partners (Children\u2019s Board)<\/p>\n
Each year, Children\u2019s 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\u2019s Board debuted a new initiative to support the organizations that support the community \u2014 a job fair specifically for nonprofits.<\/p>\n
Held at the Children\u2019s Board\u2019s main offices in Ybor City, the job fair featured 17 nonprofit partners, including Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community Services, Healthy Start Coalition of Hillsborough\u2019s Healthy Families, Champions for Children, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tampa Bay, Caregivers Support Services, and the Children\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn our job, you have to love people,\u2019\u2019 says Children\u2019s Board Family Resource Centers Operations Manager Parisa Khodadadi. \u201cIf you are not a people person \u2026 this is not a good job for you. Because you\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Supporting nonprofits<\/p>\n
The Children\u2019s 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 \u201cto support all children and families in Hillsborough County.\u2019\u2019 Children\u2019s Board Director of Programs Maria Negr\u00f3n proposed the job fair as a new tool to help those nonprofits. Reviewing their budgets, Negr\u00f3n says she sees the open positions. She also hears frequently about problems with turnover.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I first took this position, it was very clear that we\u2019re a funding agency, but we can do more than that,\u201d Negr\u00f3n says. \u201cWe can share our resources to support them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Children\u2019s Board spread word about the job fair through social media, local chambers of commerce, and other outlets.<\/p>\n
Job seeker Shany\u2019iah Fields, who will graduate from the University of South Florida in May with a master\u2019s degree in public health, says she\u2019s looking for a position in her specialty, public education or outreach.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really just kind of working with the community and helping them to get the resources and all of the support they need,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cI\u2019m really interested in postpartum and their young children\u2019s 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.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
At the job fair, she says she\u2019s interested in the Healthy Start Coalition\u2019s Healthy Families<\/a> program, where she recently interned,\u00a0 the Children\u2019s Board Family Resource Centers<\/a>, and Champions for Children<\/a>.<\/p>\n Samantha Strubing, who has a bachelor\u2019s degree in psychology, says she originally wanted to be a therapist.\u00a0 But when she started working with children and families, she found her niche in parenting education.<\/p>\n \u201cI worked in a school, and I realized that kids are only there for a short amount of time; it\u2019s really the parents\u2019 work,\u201d Strubing says. \u201cSo I\u2019m looking for a position that incorporates family and that connection with community, making sure that kids have the resources to fit their needs.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n 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<\/a> appeals to her because it is more of a school-based position.<\/p>\n \u201cThey go in and teach kids those basic skills that they may not have, like brushing teeth, hygiene, sunscreen, all those types of things,\u2019\u2019 Strubing says.<\/p>\n The Spring of Tampa Bay<\/a>, a nonprofit that works with victims of domestic abuse, has a variety of positions open, says\u00a0 Human Resources Director Deandrea Thomas. They include teaching positions, managers for the kids\u2019 team, a transitional housing advocate, case managers, crisis support advocates, a maintenance technician, and an attorney, she says.<\/p>\n The work can be\u00a0 \u201ctaxing on your soul,\u2019\u2019 Thomas says, so they seek selfless team members.<\/p>\n