For Broward County students currently in foster care who didn’t have a parent or guardian to accompany them on “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day,” Children’s Harbor hosted the Third Annual Career Day Expo, at which the students had the opportunity to visit with representatives from 40 companies, governmental and armed forces representatives who attended the event.
Organized by Children’s Harbor’s Academic and Life Skills team, the Career Day Expo was instrumental in introducing students to unique opportunities and various career paths. They interacted with business professionals, attended business etiquette networking sessions and learned about what their future could look like in a variety of business and trade positions, nonprofits, local government or the armed forces.
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After the Expo, each student selected an industry that most piqued their interest. The Children’s Harbor team then coordinated a hands-on opportunity for them to explore their chosen “career” at the selected Expo exhibitor’s place of business on Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.
“It’s truly a gift to be able to show these young people the kind of promising opportunities available to them,” Children’s Harbor President and CEO Tiffani Dhooge said. “For kids who come from traumatic backgrounds, the need to learn what’s expected of them in the often-intimidating work world is especially important and can positively change the trajectory of their life forever.”
More than 40 exhibitors participated in the Children’s Harbor Career Day, including Just Hip Hop; Memorial Healthcare System; Community Reconstruction Inc., Exterior Cleaning Service; U.S. Navy; Broward County Aviation Department/Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport; Pediatrics Associates; City of Pembroke Pines Fire Department; U.S. Coast Guard; Demo World Entertainment; Resolve Academy; Delta Airlines; Centennial Bank; Barber Bond LLC; Plantation Health and Wellness; Couture Mobile Spa; Palermo Landsman and Ross, P.A.; DEA Miami Field Division; Student Success Project; Financial Acumen; Uniq Catering; Solutions By Maya LLC; Broward Sheriff’s Office; Carreras Law, P.A.; Resolve Marine; Keys 2 Independence; JT Foundation; FLITE; Top Tier Headshots; Women In Aviation; Pembroke Pines Police Department; Southwest Realty; Andvaris Inc.; Vets Help Heal the Heart; Premier Martial Arts & XP League; State Representative Robin Bartleman; Elevating Word Church/Project Impact; West Broward High School; Pembroke Pines Mayor Angelo Castillo; Pembroke Pines Commissioners Jay Schwartz and Maria Rodriguez; Silver Trail Middle School; H.D. Perry Education Center; Kingdom Charitable Trust; DG Inc, Poitier Publishing Co., Ikes Carter Pool Company.
(L-R) Tiffani Dhooge, President / CEO, Children’s Harbor; Erik Chafin, CDO; Children’s Harbor
(L-R) Maraj Charlton, Owner; Jus Hip Hop
(L-R) Jamie Eikevik, Ikes Carter Pool Company; Pembroke Pines Fire Rescue Officers
A Brown’s Harbor Resident
Seth Levit of JT Foundation and his son
A Brown’s Harbor Resident
(L-R) — Ana Gall, Dir. of Operations; Children’s Harbor; Samuel Mills, Brown’s Harbor Program Dir.
Dr. Stephanie Jones, Owner; Vets Help Heal the Heart; a Brown’s Harbor resident
(L-R) — State Rep. Robin Bartleman; Tiffani Dhooge, President/CEO; Children’s Harbor
Clara Acero, Executive Dir., and Grace McCafferty, PR Manger, Kingdom Charitable Trust
(L-R) — Karen Ross, Children’s Harbor Board member; Palermo, Landsman, & Ross, P.A.
Dejay Hepburn, Pastor; Elevating Word Church/Project Impact
About Children’s Harbor
Established in 1996, Children’s Harbor is a nationally accredited non-profit agency with a mission to help strengthen families who are struggling in our community, while providing safe shelter and support to teens in foster care so that they may grow into healthy, educated and productive adults.
With the belief that children should feel safe, that family is worth fighting for and that cycles can be broken, Children’s Harbor provides a harbor of hope and healing for children who have been impacted by the trauma of child abuse. The main campus in Pembroke Pines provides a supportive family environment for teenagers in foster care and their younger siblings. The family strengthening program prevents kids from coming into foster care by providing in-home counseling and support to families who are struggling in the community. Young adults aged 18-23 who have aged out of foster care are provided with housing and the wrap-around support and independent living programs necessary to help them overcome their trauma and navigate through the early stages of adulthood.
Brown’s Harbor is a supportive housing community that offers on-site staff, training, and wrap-around support services for young adults who have aged out of the foster care system, ages 18-23, helping to bridge the gap from dependence to independence.
