City of Tampa – One of 100 Best Cities for Young People

Published by nora | Filed under Buyer / Seller Tips, Communities, Miscellaneous, Real Estate

Families thinking of moving to Tampa, Florida will be glad to know that the city of Tampa, together with its county of Hillsborough, has been chosen as one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People in 2011 by America’s Promise Alliance in partnership with ING Foundation.

The alliance, founded in 1997 under the leadership of General Colin Powell and today chaired by Alma Powell, is an organization of more than 400 corporations, nonprofit associations, advocacy groups and faith-based groups that are helping young people graduate from high school and pursue a college degree or a job opportunity.

The alliance has identified five resources that they need to provide to young people in order for them to succeed, and these are:

• Caring Adults
• Safe Places
• Healthy Start
• Effective Education
• Opportunities to Help Others

The Tampa-Hillsborough community is one of only seven communities in Florida chosen as among the country’s Best 100 Communities for Young People. The seven are:

• Tampa/Hillsborough
• St. Petersburg
• Manatee County
• North Lauderdale
• Plantation
• Alachua County
• Greenacres

Tampa/Hillsborough also received this recognition in 2008 and in 2010 while two other Florida communities — St. Petersburg and Manatee County — have been on this Best list five times, including this year.

The programs of the city of Tampa and the county of Hillsborough that have been winning over admirers and supporters, particularly America’s Promise Alliance, are the following:

Youth Action Collaborative. It’s an organization of young people ages 14 to 21 and adults who meet monthly to focus on what they can do for children and young people.

Graduation Pathway Summit. It’s a program aimed at increasing high school graduation rates. Participants do mentoring, hold out-of-school activities, manage community activities and interact with parents.

Hillsborough Constituency for Children. This effort established a special taxing district to gather funds for children’s welfare.

Partnership for Out-of-School Time. This effort is carried out by more than 100 organizations and has launched 1,000 year-round out-of-school activities for children aged five to 12.

All in all, the Tampa-Hillsborough community has increased its high school graduation rate to 82.3 percent and has reduced youth poverty rate in its area to 19.3 percent.

The city of Tampa also runs the following programs:

Parks and Recreation Programs. These include after-school activities, day camps, fitness activities, sports programs and classes held at parks in the Tampa area.

Community Affairs/Law Enforcement Workshops for Youth. This program conducts every year six law enforcement and community free workshops for young people free of charge.

Child Support Payments service. This facilitates child support payments for cases supervised by the Florida State Disbursement Unit, Florida Department of Revenue or Florida Clerks of Court.

Online programs such as Tampa Just for Kids and Tampa Police Department Kids Coloring Books. These help children get answers to their questions about Tampa and play with interactive coloring books about the police.

Live in a community that has lots of programs for your young children. Contact Tampa4U.com and own a beautiful home in the city of Tampa.