As someone once said, “it takes a village” to raise a child. When thinking about children and their parents at the University of Houston, it took many people from many different areas to start the “Take Your Child to Work Day” pilot program for 2017.
Sponsored by Staff Council, with assistance from Faculty Senate, several areas in Academic Affairs, and important contributions from Administration and Finance, the program will take place June 9 during the morning around UH.
During the “Conversations With Staff” events (sponsored by Staff Council) from 2011 through 2014, staff and faculty submitted requests every year to bring back a “Take Your Child to Work Day” program.
Early in 2016, the Staff Affairs Committee of Staff Council began researching “Take Your Child to Work Day” programs taking place specifically in Texas and other southern universities and colleges, and decided to try to involve campus resources to develop a pilot program in 2017, with only limited funds available for the program.
The key to most “Take Your Child to Work Day” events at other Texas universities involved specific programs planned for the children to highlight the various areas around campuses and the possibilities of attending college.
“We were very fortunate to have M.D. Anderson Library to start the ball rolling, since they had a grant to do a Take Your Child to Work Day event on a smaller scale at the library. Once our committee members started asking places around campus, other areas started joining in,” said Peggy Levy, co-chair of the Staff Affairs Committee.
By the end of 2016, five areas around campus put together events for the children:
While gathering areas to produce events for the children, Faculty Senate and A&F stepped up and contributed other items to make the day a special memory for the children. These contributions were crucial to the success of the 2017 Pilot Program development. Faculty Senate contributed 200 backpacks, Office of Risk Management provided consultation and information from a safety standpoint, A&F leadership paid for vouchers for the children to eat lunch at the Fresh Food Company, and Printing and Postal Services printed free badges for the children.
Items provided to fill the children’s backpacks included contributions from A&F areas such as Vending Services (snacks), University Information Technology (pens), and Office of Sustainability (pins and flyers), along with other areas providing items which will be of interest to children.
“For something like this, I think you can never thank people enough for contributing,” said Lynn Smith, co-chair for Staff Affairs.
Sign-up for children to attend the events (200 children between the ages of 8 and 13) began April 28 and will close when all event slots are filled. Please visit the Take Your Child to Work Day website for more information and to sign-up for event programs.