Sunshine Matters

This week has been a busy one for VISIT FLORIDA staff who gave back to the community through involvement in two worthwhile activities.  First, fifteen volunteers from the VISIT FLORIDA staff gathered up books and headed to two Tallahassee elementary schools to participate in READ UNITED, part of the United Way of the Big Bend’s “Days of Doing” program.  There, each volunteer read aloud to a first grade class and left behind a book for each student to take home.

The READ UNITED effort will distribute over 4,400 books in five days to 300 first-grade classrooms in the Big Bend area.  The Cat in the Hat, Curious George and many other childhood favorites will be distributed to every first grade public school student in Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor and Wakulla counties, resulting in countless smiles and widespread inspiration for reading.  Click the following links to learn more about the United Way of the Big Bend and READ UNITED.

Second, VISIT FLORIDA staff participated in the 2014 Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.  In addition to hosting activities for our own staff’s children at our office headquarters in Tallahassee, volunteers also represented VISIT FLORIDA at a citywide event organized by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.  The interactive event held at the State Capitol encouraged locals to bring their daughters, sons, relatives and friends to learn about the importance of education, the top growing careers in Florida and the impact they have on the future of Florida’s workforce.

The tourism industry was well represented at the event, alongside other fields such as agriculture, health, technology and business.  By showing students this diversity and connecting these various industries to the education necessary, we were a part of encouraging them to explore new challenges and consider a career path they may not have otherwise.  To learn more about Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, please click here.

READ UNITED and Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day are both great projects VISIT FLORIDA’s Charity Committee has arranged staff participation in to ensure we continue to have a positive impact on our community.