KidsBay : Innovation + Job News

Children in the University of South Florida (USF) area community will get moving soon, as they join the nationwide fight against childhood obesity.
 
The efforts are being led by the University Area Community Development Corporation (UACDC), inspired by the first lady’s Let’s Move! Initiative. Let’s Move! supports local community efforts to increase exercise, health and nutrition among the nation’s children through leadership, community support and innovative programs.
 
Funded in part by a grant from Molina Healthcare of Florida, UACDC will be implementing a number of initiatives, including providing health and nutrition information in places where families typically gather, such as schools or parks. They’re also helping the local Mort Elementary School with its "Walking School Bus,'' a group of children who walk to school together under the supervision of a trained adult leader. This promotes exercise, reduces traffic around the school and reduces environmental impact.
 
Saturday Fitness Fun Days will feature scavenger hunts, nutrition and health-based prizes. A summer camp is being developed that will focus on physical activity.

The program is part of UACDC’s overall focus on the redevelopment and sustainability of the at-risk neighborhoods surrounding USF’s Tampa campus. They're starting with kids in the hope that the changes will have a positive impact on the entire family.

"We really wanted to reach out and make a difference to our young people, and hopefully in the process make a difference with their parents and grandparents as well," says Dan Jurman, executive director of UACDC.

The University area has high rates of malnurishment and preventable diseases such as diabetes. The goal is to increase education and nutrition in an effort to increase overall community health.

Along with the exercise programs, there will be nutrition and health-based initiatives such as cooperative community gardens and an affordable fresh produce market.
 
Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Dan Jurman, UACDC

Tampa Bay WaVE recently accepted the first group of startups into its FirstWaVE Accelerator Program.

The companies will receive assistance in all phases of development, including workshops, bootcamp events, mentors, professional services and opportunities to meet with investors and other successful entrepreneurs. They will also have access to the coworking space at FirstWaVE’s new Venture Center in downtown Tampa.

"The program will fill in some of the missing skills sets and experience that my team doesn't have,'' says Brian Burridge, president and founder of Commendable Kids, a startup that is part of the inaugural class.

Commendable Kids is an online experience that helps parents, teachers and other caregivers motivate and encourage children toward achieving goals, reaching milestones and learning new skills.

Parents sign up online, and their children can earn badges for their accomplishments. The parents then add information to their account to illustrate what their child did to earn the badges. They can invite family and friends to become supporters and give the children virtual "high fives.''

As an early supporter of Tampa Bay WaVE, Burridge was eager to be a part of the first class in the Accelerator program.

"Tampa Bay is a lot stronger in tech than anyone realizes,'' says Burridge. "FirstWaVe is laying the foundation that will build confidence in developers and help them know there is support.''

Burridge is looking to the Accelerator program for validation that his company can be sustainable as well as help with marketing to allow him to reach even more families.

The early stage start-ups making up the inaugural FirstWaVE Accelerator class are: SHOOTRAC, Cartooga, Secondhand Living, Drawer, Commendable Kids, Confy.co, Kite Desk and  SavvyCard.

FirstWaVE is currently accepting applications for the next class. The deadline to apply is April 1.
 
Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Brian Burridge, Commendable Kids

BMR Preparatory Academy opened its doors in January to provide a creative and tailored learning experiences for children. Just three months later, they are adding new members to their team: a pre-kindergarten facilitator, a social studies and physical education facilitator, and after-school and summer camp counselors.

BMR Prep is a nonprofit independent private school that aims to enrich the educational experience through activity and project-based lessons.

“We use tablets instead of textbooks and truly digital animated content. We are pioneering the way we look at education and are changing the way we educate our students,” says Amy Scott, co-founder and assistant head of school.

Currently located in Town ‘N’ Country, BMR Prep serves pre-kindergarten to fifth grade students. Their growth plan includes additional campuses in St. Petersburg and Tampa, near USF and Ybor City. Their goal is to begin serving preschool to eighth grade students and add up to 15 staff members.

The school enrolls 108 students, creating a smaller class size and allowing a focus on relationship building among facilitators, children and parents. The customized level program is designed to accommodate different learning levels, which “takes the pressure off the student, and keeps them engaged and challenged,” says Scott. The environment integrates technology and creative thinking with building skillsets and the ability to problem-solve.

Core subjects are scheduled for 75 minutes, totaling 45 hours of extra instructional time per core subject. Facilitators implement a traditional teaching atmosphere and lay the course ground work for the first 15 minutes; children move to digital curriculum for 30 minutes, and end in projects and activities to reinforce the lesson. “It allows creativity to really express itself,” says Scott.

Facilitators create program curriculum from concept to completion and are responsible for teaching an entire subject to all students. “We want students to have an experience from someone who is strong in that particular subject.”

The school has also partnered with Kids Invest USA, a financial literacy program that teaches the value of money and allows students to earn money throughout the school day, make purchases, and invest in "stocks" on Wall Street.

Facilitators should have a bachelor’s degree in the subject they facilitate as well as classroom experience. Candidates may send resumes via email or view the website for additional information.

Writer: Kaye Brown
Source: Amy Scott, BMR Preparatory Academy

Mayor Bob Buckhorn officially proclaims the entire month of March as Gasparilla Arts Month in Tampa.

It all kicks off the first weekend of the month with the Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts March 2 – 3 featuring  traditional fine arts, such as ceramics, glass, pottery, jewelry, sculpture and photography, and two brand new, non-traditional mediums showcasing a different side of the arts.

Exploring Pirates

"PIRACY REDUX: Re-examining the Myth of the Buccanneer," looks at the contemporary vs. traditional idea of the pirate. A diverse group of artists will interpret and re-contextualize the idea of piracy in our local culture, whether it be in the traditional sense or the more modern piracy of copyrighted information.

The pod installation will feature art, video, dance and music in Kiley Gardens through the Sunday. The installation is presented by The Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts and curated by TEMPUS PROJECTS and Hampton Arts Management.

"It’s a new venue for art in Tampa, a cultural middle ground," says Tracy Midulla Reller, creative director for TEMPUS PROJECTS.

Kiting Tampa Bay

Kites will also be flying high, along with miniature kite displays featuring aerial photography produced by rigs attached to kites that take photographs while in mid-air. If the weather is right, a 252-square-foot kite will make an appearance.
The project is organized by Kiting Tampa Bay, a club with more than 50 members across the region who will also be on hand with information about kiting.

"Our goal is to share our passion for kiting with others," says Kelly Nunes, co-founder of Kiting Tampa Bay.

Kiting Tampa Bay was founded in October of 2011 with the motto "Just Friends Flying Kites." They chose the arts festival for a kite display because of the two organizations’ mutual goal of supporting children’s cancer charities.

Other Arts Events

Additional arts events in Tampa during the month of March include:

The Gasparilla Music Festival the weekend of March 9. This year's bands include Best Coast, Dr. Dog, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, Dawes, Lord Huron, Ozomatli, The Meter Men with special guest Page McConnell, The Iguanas, Applebutter Express, Ozokidz, The Hip Abduction, Nervous Turkey and more.

The Gasparilla International Film Festival the week of March 19-24. Film showings take place in downtown, South Tampa and Ybor City.

Details about all the events can be found on the websites for the Arts Council of Hilsborough County and Visit Tampa Bay.

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Sources: Kelly Nunes, Kiting Tampa Bay, Tracy Midulla Reller, TEMPUS PROJECTS

A group of 10 Tampa Bay middle and high school students plan to show off their teamwork and technical skills at FIRST Tech Challenge’s Florida State Championship on March 2 in Daytona Beach.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Tech Challenge is an annual robotics competition for students in grades 7 to 12. The challenge is run by FIRST, a the national organization that fosters youth interest in science and technology.

Teams of up to 10 students are provided with a robot kit and asked to design, build and program their robots using a game scenario that changes from year to year. The students are judged based on robot performance, an engineering notebook which documents the design and building process, a team video and overall teamwork.

Team Duct Tape, sponsored by Learning is for Everyone, is a group of 13- to 15-year-olds with the philosophy: Character before Completion. Typically based out of just one high school, Team Duct is unique in that it includes students from public, private and home schools across the Tampa Bay region. 

Teams receive the challenge in September of each year. This year's challenge, called "RING IT UP," involves a tic tac toe game, where the robot has to grapple plastic rings and score them on a peg board. At the competition, teams are randomly paired with another team who could end up being their opponent in the next round. In addition to the technical skills required, students must learn to collaborate and stay professional throughout the process.

"These are important skills that we want kids to develop as we grow our tech community," says Terri Willingham, president of Learning is for Everyone.

The team will compete against 24 students for various awards and prizes, including scholarships. To financially support the  team by helping subsidize travel costs, visit the Team Duct Tape website.

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Terri Willingham, Learning is for Everyone

 

Tampa Bay K-12 students showed off their ingenuity at the USF Young Inventor Competition on February 11 at the Patel Center at the University of South Florida.
 
The event is an annual tradition honoring Thomas Alva Edison’s birthday. Now in its fifth year, the competition was founded by patent attorney Anton Hopen and his daughter Anna to inspire creativity and innovation among Tampa Bay youth.
 
The event has grown tremendously, from 80 entries at inception to almost 600 this year. Volunteers, including attorneys, executives, patent holders and inventors, narrow down the entries to determine 10 finalists, who ultimately present their invention in front of judges during the final competition.
 
Inventions are judged on creativity and originality, quality and persuasiveness / value, benefit to the public and marketability.

"They really look at the whole package," says Kari McDermott, assistant to the director at Innovation Express, the nonprofit organization that organizes the event.
 
This year's winner was middle school student Mica Jadick, for her cereal sifting device that filters out the crumbs in the last bit of cereal. The second place winner was George Seits, for his French fry condiment holder. Third place went to Katie Warren for her Boo Boo Baboon, a plush toy that holds a cold pack around a child’s arm or leg after an injury. Other finalists included Keely Karnes, who received the Outback Top Trademark Award for HEAR-RINGS, audio ear buds that combine with earring jewelry. Jonathan Ullom also received special recognition for his device that safely clears clogs of grass from lawn mowers. 
 
First, second and third place winners received cash prizes for themselves and their schools, and all participants received passes to the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI).
 
The competition currently involves students from Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota counties. The goal is to eventually expand to include more schools within these counties.

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Kari McDermott, Innovation Express

Children who enjoy playing sports can now translate that fun into learning as they take a closer look at the principles of science and mathematics involved.
 
Team Up! Explore Science & Sports at the Glazer Children’s Museum in Tampa makes learning fun for children of all ages through sports such as football, basketball, tennis and soccer. The new interactive, hands-on exhibit teaches kids geometry, physics, force and friction as they relate to their favorite sports.
 
Museum visitors can learn geometry by studying the way the angle of a tennis rack affects where the ball will go. A radar equipped pitching booth teaches the science of measuring and tracking speed. Kids can also learn about trajectory angles by shooting a mini-basketball or play soccer or snowboard in a virtual reality environment.
 
“It’s a fun exhibit,” says Antonio Hill, manager of marketing and communications for the Glazer Children’s Museum. “It’s something for the whole family to enjoy, not just the children.”
 
The exhibit fits the museum’s mission to help kids learn and discover through free play, with the ultimate goal of becoming lifelong learners. The additional fun factor of being sports-related allows children to experience learning at their own pace. “It’s free play and discover, which is how kids learn best,” says Hill.
 
The exhibit opens to the public on February 2, with a sneak preview for museum members on February 1. The exhibit will be at the museum until April 30.
 
Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Antonio Hill, Glazer Children’s Museum

With a focus on serving families with disabled members, Positive Behavior Supports Corporation (PBS) is building a network of professionals who can provide quality services in Tampa Bay.

The company strives to ensure stringent internal quality standards in order to impact the families and improve their quality of life, says Clinical Director Jennifer Agganis. The company is currently contracting with board certified behavior analysts, board certified assistant behavior analysts and behavior assistants, thereby offering an alternative for unemployed professionals having a specialized expertise. It also opens doors for teachers, psychologists, doctors and other certified professionals to pursue part-time and fulltime work opportunities.

Many of PBS Corp.'s clients are individuals or families with children who suffer from mental illness and other disabilities that may present behavior and basic skill challenges that limit functional abilities. The firm has a growing demand to support Autism Spectrum Disorder, which includes Asperger's Syndrome, PDD-NOS and Autistic Disorder. Particularly for individuals diagnosed with these disorders or related disabilities, it is important to have behavioral services provided to them in "their naturally occurring environment; it's where their world occurs,'' says Agganis.

In just over three years, the company's overall client base grew from 100 to 600. "It's a constant ebb and flow based upon what each of our clients need,'' says Agganis. One family with a child having specific behavioral needs may require between 8 and 40 dedicated hours, so PBS is "constantly looking for analysts and behavior assistants.''

Additionally, professionals will be offered on-going online training on different behavioral aspects as well as mentorship hours toward ensuring final certification for those that require it.

The firm is expanding its core Tampa Bay services to incorporate speech and language pathologists and licensed mental health counselors. Interested candidates can apply online. For more program information, contact the West Coast Regional Coordinator Milissa Yeagley at 855.832.6727, ext. 1013.

Writer: Kaye Brown
Source: Jennifer Agganis, PBS Corp.

Ten locally owned businesses in Tampa Bay are coming together to make the holidays a little brighter for a deserving family.

The initiative is coordinated by LocalShops1, a grass roots organization that supports locally owned businesses through community events and promotions.

"This is truly a regional approach to what local means, with businesses banding together and crossing city lines to do this,'' says Ester Venouziou, founder of LocalShops1. "By coming together, local businesses can have a bigger impact, which of course helps the community.''

Over $3,500 worth of donations have been secured thus far, including a Christmas turkey from Three Birds Tavern in St. Petersburg, two mattresses from Tampa Bay Discount Mattresses, a collection of items from vendors at the Gulfport Tuesday Fresh Market and the grand prize of a full child's bedroom set from The Iron Pelican Antiques & Home Décor. Thirty businesses are expected to attend a holiday party hosted by Island Flavors and Things in Gulfport to donate toys for the family.

A holiday party will be hosted at The Yellow House Event Venue, where the prizes will be given to the family. 

"Local businesses, in general, give much back to the community,'' says Venouziou. "Some studies show that, on average, local businesses give three times as much to local charities as compared to national corporations, so we weren’t surprised to see so much generosity.''

Families can be nominated by contacting: theironpelican@yahoo.com by December 14. Nominations should include the name, contact information, city they live in, ages of children and reason the family deserves to win. Self-nominations are not accepted.

Other local businesses interested in contributing prizes can contact LocalShops1 or call 727.637.5586.

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Ester Venouziou, LocalShops1

Now there’s an easy way for parents to keep track of their children and monitor their online presence regardless of their technical expertise. The recently launched MamaBear app is the first of its kind to combine location tracking with monitoring of both social network usage and driving speed.

The inspiration for MamaBear came from a conversation co-founder Stuart Kime had with a parent who described keeping up with a child as a fulltime job. The parent company, geoWaggle LLC, had already designed location-based technology through GeoMofo, a customer loyalty app. The social media piece was added, ad MamaBear was born.

“Parents don’t realize the level of importance they should put on social monitoring,” says Robyn Spoto, president of MamaBear and a graduate of the University of South Florida and the University of Tampa. “There are some pretty explicit, open, public things our children have access to.”

The app’s four founders are all parents from the Tampa Bay region. “Our passion for wanting to protect our children became a big commonality, and MamaBear just took off,” says Spoto. “We knew it was going to help other parents.”

Those parents include a single mom of a 12-year-old and a 16-year-old. She uses the app to keep an eye on her children while she’s traveling for work, and a mom with an autistic son who was hesitant to give her son a phone, but now has a level of comfort she didn’t have before.

The app was recently recognized in the “GEW 50” – a list of the 50 most innovative new companies showing high-growth potential competing in the Startup Open during Global Entrepreneurship Week – and was also selected as one of 25 highlighted by CNBC.

The founders credit the connections they made in Tampa Bay with contributing to their success. “There’s talent here,” says Spoto. “To recognize that is really important. Many times we think we need to look outside of our own backyard for talent in the tech development area, but if you look hard enough you’ll be able to find it here.”

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Robyn Spoto, MamaBear

The Money Crowd, a crowdfunding website designed for nonprofits in Tampa Bay, provides a new option for  community members to support the causes they care about. The site aims to give nonprofits an avenue to fundraise with little to no overhead and less administrative work than traditional projects.

"We wanted to see if crowdfunding could work on a local level for a niche market,'' says Kostas Stoilas, senior associate at Cushman & Wakefield of Florida and founder of The Money Crowd.

Nonprofits develop a need with a specific project, event or cause. The Money Crowd's volunteer team then meets with the organization to fine tune the concept and shoot video to be used on the site. Promotions are done by both the nonprofit and The Money Crowd, and donations go directly to the organization through their Paypal account.
 
A Venice, FL native and graduate of The University of Tampa's MBA program, Stoilas developed the idea while on the leadership council at Big Brothers Big Sisters, which is also the site's first project. The goal is to fund an event that will recognize volunteers who have been with the organization for five years.

The most recent -- and most successful -- project is Hannah's Homeless, a winter clothing and food drive to benefit St. Petersburg's homeless population. The project began in September and has already exceeded its $2,500 goal. The success of this project in the early stages indicates they're on the right path and the community embraces the concept.
Future plans include events to allow donors to meet the organizations they are benefitting for happy hours and networking. 

"Charities love it,'' says Stoilas. "Now we're trying to build the audience and get people to regularly visit the site to find other causes they can get involved with.''

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Kostas Stoilas, The Money Crowd

The David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa offers high quality arts instruction to K-12 schools through a new Conservatory-To-Go initiative. Instructors from the Center offer on-site curriculum on a fee basis, allowing for a custom package designed to meet the needs of each individual school.

"They're getting a fully catered ongoing palate of arts education,'' says Wendy Leigh, VP of education for the Straz Center.

Subjects offered through the program include music classes such as string, percussion and woodwind instruments, theater and musical theater, and dance classes such as ballet and hip-hop. Most classes that are taught on site at the Center are also taught though the traveling program, which is meant to supplement arts programs currently in place in schools.

"In Hillsborough County in particular, the arts are very well served,'' says Leigh. But, most schools don't offer programs in dance or musical theater, allowing Straz to fill the gaps and provide additional enrichment for the students.

The pilot program at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic School provides theater and/or music classes to students in kindergarten through eighth-grade, serving more than 230 students since it began in September.

The program is in Tampa initially, but the goal is to eventually expand regionally.

"Not everyone can get downtown [for our onsite courses], so the more we can get these models to work the more we can serve the community all over the Tampa Bay region,'' says Leigh.
 
The Straz Center is participating in the Great American Teach-in on November 15. Schools interested in getting a sampling of this program can contact: (813) 229-7827.

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Wendy Leigh, Straz Center

The Mobile Medical Clinic (MMC) at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital is crossing the Bay to expand its free services to children in Pinellas County.

The arrival in Pinellas will take place October 18 from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Neighborhood Family Center in Clearwater. Appointments are required by calling 727-442-5355.

The MMC began in 2004 with the goal of providing required immunizations for children who weren't able to receive them due to health care or financial constraints. The service was so popular and critical to the community that additional services such as physical exams were added the next year.

"We're seeking to fill the healthcare gap, especially for people who don't have health insurance,'' says Kate Kennedy, child advocate for St. Joseph's Children's Advocacy Center and the MMC's coordinator. "We strive to be a bridge to care to give families the services they need at a time and place that's convenient for them.''

The 40-foot bus is staffed with nurses, a childhood specialist, a bilingual child advocate and volunteer pediatricians. Services include: well child physicals and immunizations, developmental screenings, and education and referrals about other community programs for those who have additional needs. Children are also assessed for unintentional injury risks. In 2011, the MMC assisted just under 1,000 children in Hillsborough County, from infants to 18-year-olds.

The expansion into Pinellas County is funded by a grant from Allegany Franciscan Ministries. Future plans include taking individual services off the bus when specific needs are identified in a particular community.

Children must be 18 years old or younger to participate. Parents much accompany children and provide a current vaccine record.

Writer: Megan Hendricks
Source: Kate Kennedy, St. Joseph's Children's Hospital

A Sarasota-based company, Bonitas International, creator of BooJee Beads ID jewelry, is listed as one of Inc. magazine’s 500/5000 fastest growing private companies. As the business continues on its growth trajectory, five new jobs will be created.

Bonitas was founded in 2003 and is best known for its BooJee Bead lanyards. The fashionable jewelry dresses up workplace ID badges with beads, ribbons and charms. Customers can choose from a wide variety of colors and prints, as well as designs. Customers work in various fields including medical, education, transportation and government. BooJee collections are sold through the company’s website, as well as at 4,000 retail partners throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Kimberly Martinez, co-founder and CEO of Bonitas, says the million dollar business she created with her sister 10 years ago is going strong and plans additional growth.

"We are aggressively growing about 30 percent this year over last year’s performance,'' Martinez says. "Our new philosophy is that we need to spend every dollar we can afford on marketing; therefore we plan to expand our marketing team.''

Martinez says the company was created after she was laid off from her executive position in the travel industry. Her sister, who was a nurse at the time, was making specialized necklaces out of her basement with her kids and selling them on the side. Martinez immediately saw the sales potential and convinced her sister to go along.

Writer: Kimberly Patterson
Source: Kimberly Martinez, Bonitas International

Bringing its Tex-Mex cuisine and unique ambiance to Roosevelt Boulevard North in St. Petersburg, Tijuana Flats is slated to open its third location in the Tampa Bay region on August 27th.

Featuring a made-to-order menu and 15-pump hot sauce bar, the new 2,000-square-foot Tijuana Flats at 10300 Roosevelt Blvd. N. in St. Pete is expected to accommodate 148 guests with indoor and outdoor patio seating.

“Tijuana Flats, as a brand, has been expanding very rapidly over the past several years with a significant emphasis on new development in West Florida, as well as South Florida,” says Ashley Montgomery, Tijuana Flats director of PR and marketing. “We are constantly getting requests from guests for more saturation in the West Florida market so the Roosevelt location seems like a perfect fit.”

And, obviously, the fast casual restaurant's brightly colored wall mural will be in tow; the artwork at the new location, called “The Zombeez,” will feature zombies playing in a band with a lead singer uncannily resembling a post-apocalyptic Elvis Presley.

An iPad kiosk will also be made available at the Roosevelt Boulevard North location, where guests can sign up onsite for the Flatheads eClub, offering deals, coupons and event information.

In addition, Tijuana Flats plans to become more environmentally conscious, incorporating energy efficient equipment including LED lamps, solar-powered kitchen timers, low-flow toilets and a tankless water heather.

“The front of the house tile is made from 40 percent pre-consumer recycled materials,” Montgomery says.

Prior to opening, the new restaurant is expected to bring about 40 new jobs to the area with a goal of moving several of its employees from part-time to fulltime positions.

Writer: Alexis Quinn Chamberlain
Source: Ashley Montgomery, Tijuana Flats