What Are You Doing For Take Our Kids to Work Day?

by PATRICIA FRAME on APRIL 20, 2011

This year, April 28th is Take Our Children to Work Day. What are you doing for it?

When Gloria Steinem and the MS Foundation for Women established Take Our Daughters to Work Day in 1993, it was designed to help girls understand the world of work and improve their self-esteem.

By 2003, it expanded to include boys – in part so more schools would participate.

Today, company programs often include everyone aged five through 18, although some set different limits.

A simple program that includes some activities about your organization and work is fairly easy to set up:

• Consider making it a half day if you have not done one before.
• Have parents take care of details with their childrens schools and let you know if there are any rules you need to deal with. Some require an advance email with the times and such.

Others make the kids do a write-up of the event and what they learned.

• Plan an interactive part – maybe a quiz to answer some questions from your website, done in advance, and more to do on site by talking to people – with small prizes. For 5-6 year-olds, a coloring book about your company’s work helps. Here is a helpful activity guide.
• Choose your talkers and topics carefully – think what a kid might find interesting about the work you do.

And remember how bored you are sitting through slide presentations – not the image you want to give children about the wonders of what you do!

One of the advantages of small businesses is that, if you want to participate, you are more likely to already know something about the kids your employees will bring. And you can build a good program for them.

Even solopreneurs can participate in this program, actually. Some will go to schools to speak to classes. Others will take kids they know to business events that day.

Too often, kids who live in shelters are forgotten.

If you are planning a program for your staff, you might consider contacting a local shelter to see if some kids might attend too.

Some organizations are celebrating both Earth Day and Take Our Children to Work Day together. If your work allows that, you might also.

Originally published by WomenGrowBusiness.com

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