Words from the CEO, Ernest Coney, Jr.

We have a Youth Leadership Movement (YLM) program at Middleton and partner with them on several programs to help increase academic achievement and employment opportunities.

We’re just months away from our annual Community Development Champions event that raises critical dollars for CDC of Tampa to fund solutions for workforce, youth leadership, and homeownership. We are so thankful to past attendees who look forward each year to this opportunity to network and see the impact that we have had on the communities that we serve.  

This year, we are putting the health and safety of our supporters at the forefront of what we do. We recognize that our annual luncheon will be nearly impossible to conduct in-person due to our ‘new normal’ that restricts large gatherings.

Because the funds raised during this event are so critical to the support of our programs, we are working on a Virtual Affair that will allow us to maintain the spirit of our luncheon, but in a non-traditional way. We’ll tell you more soon. 

While working from home is our ‘new normal’, it has not impacted the work we do. Read on to hear about how we are helping people get into new homes, and how we are impacting our youth through programs both online and in-person that teach new career and future life skills. 

Ernest M. Coney, Jr.

President & CEO
CDC of Tampa, Inc.

The pandemic has changed just about every industry—especially where building officials were forced to work remotely, which resulted in delays for processing and necessary approvals.

Despite the obstacles, the CDC of Tampa has been working diligently and tirelessly to meet home ownership commitments. We’re completing projects in both the city of Tampa and in Pinellas County, delivering affordable homes and exceeding our construction schedule. In fact, over the past 45 days, we completed and sold three new homes to Tampa residents who are thrilled to move into their new residences.

As previously reported in May, we broke ground in Pinellas County’s ‘Dansville’ neighborhood and are pleased to announce that we are getting ready to deliver the five homes—all sold while under construction! The homeowners are anxiously monitoring the construction progress and very excited to be in their new homes by September, 2020. 

With the foresight that summer programs were going to be closed or have limited numbers of participants, the CDC of Tampa knew how important it was to continue to service our youth regardless of the pandemic. As this article in Time points out, “While COVID is sparing most kids’ bodies, it’s not being so kind to their minds. Nobody is immune to the stress that comes with a pandemic and related quarantining.” Due to the myriad of changes happening in their lives and lack of peer support, it was obvious to our program directors that if these pre-teen students weren’t placed in a summer program, they would be left with the all-day experience of social media gawking and video gaming.

Although we weren’t able to host our in-person summer camp this year, it certainly didn’t stop us from providing our middle school youth with what they needed. Over the past two months, we have been taking care of our youth each and every day with a full day of learning from 9am-5pm! Our Summer Program specialized in Career Exploration, so each day, students were involved in learning how they can appropriately plan for their futures. These lessons included researching higher education, scholarships, resume building, SMART goal planning, and finding their unique skills and abilities. Each day was filled with physical activities such as: yoga, boxing, weight training, and cardio. The program also included dynamic guest speakers who discussed and taught subjects in painting, coding, robotics, science, and dance. An emotional and social learning aspect of the program was also successful as the pre-teens enjoyed team-building activities and games.

We received such great feedback from parents, including this review from Marie Pierre.

Over the summer, 15 at-risk, low-to-moderate income youth, ages 16-24 participated in our Teen Exploration Camp.  This camp held at our Audrey Spotford Youth and Family Center is part of the Tampa Apprenticeship Program (TAP). The Youth Apprenticeship Program offers teens and young adults in our community a chance to learn skills in both the classroom and under the tutelage of professional craftsmen, which provided an opportunity for the young people to gain valuable work experience and access to professional mentors in industries that are currently in high-demand such as plumbing, electrical, and carpentry.

In partnership with Hancock Whitney Bank, Gentlemen’s Quest and City of Tampa, CDC of Tampa also provided participants with essential skills needed to attain and keep a job—skills such as completing applications, preparing and dressing for an interview, resume building, time management, public speaking, and customer service. The Financial Literacy component helped youth to understand budgeting, checking and savings accounts, credit management, and investing. Last, but certainly not least, the General Concepts of Entrepreneurship exposed youth to the basics of entrepreneurship, so they have some understanding of what is required to successfully run your own business.