August 24, 2021
For the month of August 2021, FPP Coalition’s support staff would like highlight Coalition member Necessities for Children (NFC), a non-profit with a mission of providing support to disadvantaged children. NFC programming emphasizes the importance of technical education and developing understandings of cybersecurity at an early age. They’ve recently partnered with FPP Coalition peers in developing youth cybersecurity projects and programming, as well as becoming a community voice in conversations around cybersecurity’s connections with youth financial capability. Aligned in these conversations has been FPP Coalition’s support staff, who is honored to have NFC as a member and supporter of the Coalition and its mission to Elevate Financial Capability for All.
Their Mission: NFC programming emphasizes the importance of technical education and developing understandings of cybersecurity at an early age. The organization works to change the lives of low-income children by providing a uniquely compelling form of fun and interactive early-stage computer science education, preparing them to enter a future workforce dominated by cybersecurity and technical employment opportunities as a competitive and innovative contributor. This is done through:
Education – NFC believes educating all youth is crucial to reducing poverty and increasing individual well-being.
Technology – NFC ensures mobile coding and computer science classes are vital to offer to youth, specifically to those in low and communities of color and provision of necessities.
Provision of Basic Necessities – NFC strives to connect youth with community resources when needed, ensuring a holistic approach to meeting the needs of each student.
Their Services: NFC provides support youth grade K-12 through 4 focused programs – Cyber Safety & Cybersecurity, Unplugged Coding, Rocket Launch, and Drone Design. Children are inspired by these fun activities, which require teamwork and include hands-on learning, problem-solving skills, and computational thinking. NFC incorporates ergonomics for short-to-long-term health and optimizing learning. They provide a bridge to the real-life application of tech skills through interactive, innovative project-based classes. Through these programs, which are one hour per week, NFC empowers and equips youth with 21st century skills & tools to succeed as programs are facilitated in-person and virtually; featuring a special guest speaker to share their journey and inspire participants.
Upcoming Events: NFC has several upcoming events where they will be working to expand the conversation surrounding cybersecurity and technical education.
NFC’s Director Sarah deBoer-Hjort will be joining the upcoming FPP 2021 Cyber Safety Virtual Forum: The Undeniable Link Between Cyber Safety and Financial Capability on September 28th, 2021 from 1 PM – 3 PM EST at https://fppcoalition.org/event/2021cybersafetyvirtualforum/
She will be providing a youth-focused perspective on the link between one’s financial “story” and their cyber activity, exploring ways this link is becoming stronger as technology expands even more into our everyday activities. With the added dependence on virtual connection for many that accompanied the pandemic, ensuring household or community Financial Stability and Security requires an in-depth awareness of Cyber Safety.
NFC will also be joining upcoming FPP Regional Prosperity Roundtables, FPP’s annual statewide training conferences that brings Financial Capability practitioners together in one place to engage in meaningful conversation on a specific topic relevant to FPP coalition members. NFC will be joining this year to help in identifying the partners in Florida community who must be “at the table” To Elevate Financial Inclusion for All. For Regional Roundtable dates and locations, please visit https://fppcoalition.org/events. New Roundtable opportunities for engagement are being continuously released at the link until early September, so check back for updates if you don’t see one that works well for you currently available.
NFC has an coming program in partnership Center for Cyber Safety and Education targeting elementary schools across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties called Cyber Safety Day. Cyber Safety Day, this year on October 27th, is a one-day event intended to provide as many kids as possible within a community with online safety education. The joint effort of businesses and community leaders to ensure public elementary children receive skills to become responsible digital citizens with Garfield’s Cyber Safety Adventures, funded through sponsorships and donations. For more information, please visit https://www.iamcybersafe.org/s/cyber-safety-day-southeast-fl-2021
NFC is continuing growth outside of these specific upcoming programs, piloting new programs such as the 1st annual Rocket Launch program brought to LAUNCH World Space week in early October and elevating continuous initiatives such as virtual Cyber Tech for Teen programs in partnership with the YMCA. NFC is always seeking collaboration for partnerships with existing youth service providers. Those who are interested can visit https://www.necessitiesforchildren.org/ or email Sarah deBoer-Hjort at director@necessitiesforchildren.org.
FPP Coalition support staff is honored to serve the various partner and member organizations that comprise the Coalition, and with that service elevate awareness to all of the resources and community contributors such as NFC available within and beyond Florida.