Get Involved and Help Take Our Kids to Work Day Org with Donations

On Thursday, Michigan State University (MSU) is hosting an in-person event called “Take Our Kids to Work Day” that allows children of employees to explore the campus and get a glimpse of what it’s like to work on a dairy farm, do sports related projects, or even help plant a tree. So far, 1,500 employees and kids have signed up and staff are allowed to bring any child they know.

Jaimie Hutchison, the director of a nearby university’s WorkLife Office, said that there is an amazing way for people to be connected and meet each other. They can also show their pride for the university which is labeled as family-friendly. At the same time, people can check out what everyone in their campus are up to and build up a stronger feeling of belonging!

On Thursday, Take Our Kids to Work Day is turning 30! This day encourages us to show our kids where their parents work and it’s organized by the nonprofit ‘Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Foundation’. The foundation also wants more people to remind everyone how important it is and they’re asking for help so they can keep doing what they do.

Every April, on the third Thursday, Take Our Kids to Work Day is held. However, because of the pandemic this year, there have been fewer places that kids could visit since workplaces had shut down.

At the beginning of quarantine, lots of parents were taking work home with them or taking their kids to work with them. But since the arrival of coronavirus, most parents needed to go to workplaces without their children in order to stay safe.

The foundation has faced some difficult times. Carolyn McKecuen was the leader of it for a long time, and Dave Oliveria, who is currently in charge of it, described her as an essential part of the organization. Sadly, she passed away last November.

“The board members have been trying to keep everything running,” states Oliveria. The foundation had negative revenue last year and doesn’t employ anyone at the moment.

This year, an event is being organised by Junior Achievement USA which will have a game show format and panelists who will answer questions about their jobs.

In Brigantine, New Jersey (a coastal town), school superintendent Glenn Robbins has asked his teachers to bring their children to school and for the students to come with their parents to their workplaces on Thursday. He predicts that around 30% of all the students will take part.

He said that field trips can give kids a chance to experience nature, something they don’t get while sitting in their classrooms all week. But some teachers and schools say that taking these students out of class might cause trouble.

Thirty years ago, the Ms. Foundation for Women was inspired by their findings that showed girls’ self-esteem dropping when they reached their teenage years. After that, Marie Wilson and Gloria Steinem (the cofounders of the foundation) suggested to parents to bring their daughters to work so that these girls can be exposed to more job possibilities and understand them better. That suggestion then became a popular event in 1993 – it was called “Take Our Daughters To Work” day!

Teresa Younger, the President and CEO of the Ms. Foundation for Women said that workplaces should pay attention to and support those who have kids at home.

In the 1990s, more and more women participated in the workforce. However, since 2000, their numbers have not changed very much. According to a study from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 75% of women between 25 and 54 years old had jobs in 1993. Nowadays that number has risen to 78%. During this difficult year, many women left their job due to Covid-19 and it took longer for them to get back into work even after lockdowns ended and there were more available jobs.

The name and date of ‘Bring Your Kids to Work Day’ has changed since it started, including boys officially participating in 2003. Many workplaces have allowed kids or children to come along for years now. Companies and places of work are free to decide when and how they want their employees to bring their kids with them to work.

This year, about 1,000 children signed up for a livestream put on by Junior Achievement US. It’s usually tough to figure out how many kids show up, but it probably won’t compare to the 18 million that have attended from 2005 to 2009.

Oliveria said that even though it’s difficult to tell, most companies are doing their own thing and we don’t know about it. Younger understands the challenge of supporting people in the current moment. She asked how can we provide what is needed today while continuing to integrate our work together?

Bringing your kid to the workplace is an important way to promote fairness and equality in society, she said. It puts pressure on businesses to give young people a chance and to show them what it’s like working in their industry.

The Associated Press (AP) team has gotten help from The Conversation US, and also money from Lilly Endowment Inc., to bring you news about organizations that help out others. If you want to read more stories like these, just go to https://bigbignews.net/philanthropy!