USAmeriBank and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay launch first School-to-Work program in Pinellas County

CLEARWATER, Fla. (September 23, 2016) – USAmeriBank is partnering with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay to launch Pinellas County’s first School-to-Work program. As part of the new program, approximately 25 students from Northeast High School in St. Petersburg will visit the USAmeriBank Operations Center in Clearwater once a month to meet with bank employees who will serve as mentors

As littles, the high school students will attend seminars on post-graduation skills such as resume writing, job interviewing, college preparation and vocational training, and then spend one-on-one time with their USAmeriBank mentors to focus on individual support, guidance and friendship. Mentors and students are also encouraged to stay in touch beyond their regular scheduled visits.

School-to-Work, a two-year program that targets high school juniors and seniors, was developed as a resource to encourage employees and older students who don’t have dedicated time for the traditional Big/Little relationship.

This is the second School-to-Work program launched in the Tampa Bay area. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay launched the first School-to-Work program in February with The Nielsen Company and the Hillsborough County School District. The program aims to empower students and motivate their academic performance to obtain a higher level of education.

“Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay works tirelessly to help children in our community grow their confidence and develop meaningful life skills,” said Kara LeComte, Retail and Marketing Executive of USAmeriBank, who also serves on Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay’s board of directors. “USAmeriBank is proud to help bring this program to Pinellas County and our employees are excited to be involved as mentors to the students.”

USAmeriBank focuses its community support in several key areas, including youth education and development. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay’s focus on providing mentorship to at-risk children aligns well with these focus areas.

“We are proud to be partnering with USAmeriBank and the Pinellas County School District at our first Pinellas County School-to-Work location, mentoring juniors from Northeast High School. School-to-Work is a natural expansion of the mentoring services provided by Big Brothers Big Sisters,” said Stephen A. Koch, President, CEO and Big Brother of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay. “Through their Big Brother and Big Sister mentors from USAmeriBank, the participating students will get to experience over the next two years the world of work, and have assistance in developing their plan for life after high school. We expect this program to eventually help increase high school graduations rates, and success with whatever career path these students ultimately select.”

USAmeriBank and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay announced the launch of the Pinellas County School-to-Work program at Big Brothers Big Sister’s Jungle Book Gala on September 10. Watch a video about the program here.

About USAmeriBank:

USAmeriBank is an independent, non-public bank based in Clearwater, Fla. that has established itself as an outstanding middle-market financial institution. The bank serves the needs of individuals and businesses in the Tampa Bay area in Florida, and in the Birmingham, Montgomery and Tallapoosa areas in Alabama, by providing a high-level of personalized service and attention to a targeted customer base. USAmeriBank’s parent company is USAmeriBancorp, Inc. More information is available at www.USAmeriBank.com.

About Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay:

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay is part of the nation’s largest donor and volunteer-supported mentoring network, and holds itself accountable for children in its program to achieve measurable outcomes, such as educational success, avoidance of risky behaviors, higher aspirations, greater confidence and better relationships. Partnering with parents/guardians, schools, corporations and others in the community, Big Brothers Big Sisters carefully pairs youth, or “Littles,” with screened volunteer mentors, or “Bigs,” and monitors these mentoring matches throughout their time in the program.

Big Brothers Big Sisters provides children facing adversity – often of a single or low-income household or families where a parent is incarcerated or serving in the military – with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one mentoring relationships that change their lives for the better, forever. In 2015, nearly 3,000 children were paired with mentors in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Citrus, Hernando and Sumter counties. The agency received a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and was awarded the BBBS National Gold Standard Award and the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s 2015 Non-profit of the Year Award in the area of Public and Societal Benefit. For more information, please visit www.bbbstampabay.org.

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