Our partner companies and volunteers deliver interactive monthly showcases at the Clubs designed to expose kids to a variety of professions, in addition to field trips and skill building workshops to focus on soft skills for workforce readiness. This pillar includes programming for the following areas:

• Career Showcases
• Skill-Building Workshops
• Field Trips
• Summer Programs

During Career Showcases, Partner Companies prepare sessions for kids, focusing on career options within their organizations that allow hands-on learning, discussions and experiences. This is the critical step in raising awareness and exposure to multiple industries and career paths, allowing kids to start opening up to the possibilities.

Both Career Showcases & Skill-Building Workshops are focused on middle school students in the 6th – 8th grades and take place at the Boys & Girls Clubs twice a month, one session for each program.

Students read about their personality types after a Skill Building Workshop on personality differences and teamwork.

High school students from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay participated in our “Production with a Purpose” summer camp for eight weeks. They learned about broadcasting, editing, camera skills, interviewing and more. Special thanks to our partners at WEDU!

Partner Companies volunteer to host students for Field Trips in their workplace allowing them to share their facilities, culture and types of jobs available at the company.  Field trips are one-day experiences that target our middle school and high school populations during school breaks like Spring or Summer break. They can last from 1 ½ hours to full-day experiences and range from 8 – 200 kids in attendance at a time, based on facilities and resources.

Summer Programs provide an opportunity for Think Big to have even greater blocks of time with the kids during summer break and allow us to expand their experiences for career exploration and learning.  We offer both middle and high school students various camps, career fairs, workshops and provide multi-day emersion in specific career fields.  The programs reach hundreds of kids to expose them to different career industries, build workforce readiness skills and prepare them for internships.

Our volunteers and partner companies help kids with job skills and training, as well as opportunities for internships and scholarships. We stay with the kids throughout the completion of on-the-job training, trade school, two-year or a four-year degree, and either hire or help them obtain jobs at the end of their educational journey. Programs included in our Job Readiness & Placement Pillar include:

• High School Internships & Job Shadowing
• Job Readiness Workshops
• Scholarships
• Job Placement Support

Our partner companies provide internships and job shadowing opportunities for students while they are still in high school.  This allows first-hand experiences for students to get a feel for a specific career field and the day-to-day responsibilities it requires. Many of these opportunities happen over summer break for extended learning.

Think Big provides Job Readiness Workshops to high-school students to ensure they are prepared for whatever path they choose post high-school graduation. Some of our workshop topics include:

• Interviewing Best Practices and Mock Interviews: In-Person and Over-the-Phone
• Professional Communication Skills: Emails, Following Up, Organization, How to Dress Appropriately
• Resume Writing and Cover Letters
• Social Media: Do’s and Don’ts
• SAT / ACT Preparation
• And more

Think Big provides scholarships through the generosity of our donors and partner companies for technical school, apprenticeships, certifications and college that range from $5,000-$25,000.  View our scholarship opportunities under the Event Recap section and apply online today.

Think Big helps students pursue their post-graduation pathway through both scholarships & assistance with job placement.  We support all career paths including:

• Direct to work with on the job training
• Certification in a technical trade
• Pursuing a 2-year or 4-year college degree