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Tampa Gets It Right For Youths

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By SHERRI ACKERMAN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 25, 2008

Updated: 01/24/2008 11:11 pm

TAMPA - A national children's alliance Thursday named Hillsborough County and Tampa as among the country's 100 Best Communities for Young People.

Improving children's lives by ensuring they have health insurance, a good education and opportunities to build life skills are some of the criteria the Tampa area met to qualify for the title.

"I think we're really in a great place in our community to really look at kids," said Luanne Panacek, executive director of The Children's Board Of Hillsborough County, which applied for a chance to be named to the list. "This only makes it better."

The designation comes from America's Promise Alliance, an advocacy group that began with the Presidents' Summit For American's Future in 1997 and has since championed better lives for disadvantaged children.

Eligible For Grants

The Alexandria, Va.-based agency, which partnered with Capital One on this year's initiative, strives to ensure children are given the tools to succeed, organizers say.

This is the first time since the initiative began in 2005 that Tampa has made the list. St. Petersburg and three other Florida cities have been named to the list three times, including this year. Landing a spot makes each city eligible for $300,000 in alliance grants.

"Tampa is committed to helping our children grow up with the strengths and skills they need to become successful and productive citizens," Mayor Pam Iorio said in a prepared statement that touted her office's programs, including the Mayor's Youth Corps, which matches high school students with public service projects.

Panacek and Bobbi Davis of the Children's Board prepared the extensive application last year that called for information about Tampa's demographics - 286,849 children from birth to age 18 live here - and detailed examples of the community's commitment to young people.

The board, funded by county property taxes, uses its entire $40 million budget to provide grants, studies and assistance to programs that focus on children.

Community Involvement Key

The application boasted about local programs including Computer Mentor's Group, a nonprofit made up of computer professionals and volunteers who teach disadvantaged youth about the industry. About 300 computers are donated annually to participants.

A partnership among St. Joseph's Hospital, Florida Covering Kids and Families, and the University of South Florida helped enroll 13,600 children in the state's health care plan, known as Florida KidCare.

The application also highlighted a new program, Diploma-See, that takes eighth-grade students through a workshop with area business people to show them the economic value of graduating from high school and getting a college degree.

Hillsborough/Tampa has an "unprecedented level of synergy and connectedness and momentum doing things for kids," Panacek said. "Maybe it's the right people in the right places, but it's definitely key people in key places."

Reporter Sherri Ackerman can be reached at (813) 259-7144 or sackerman@tampatrib.com.

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