It Takes Philly
We empower youth to believe in their full potential by taking them out of the world they know and into a world of possibilities.
IT TAKES PHILLY, INC. was built on the hypothesis that inner city youth who are exposed to professionals and have direct contact and feedback regarding goal setting, valuing yourself, delayed gratification and learning that they are directly responsible for their success in life, are more likely to succeed in their professional and personal goals. Therefore, this program is expressly designed to expose children to professions that exist within and outside of their communities, to show them that we as professional people and members of society are invested and care about their future.
The students participate in a variety of field trips hosted by volunteer professionals. Students arrive at participating locations for presentation, Q&A, tour and lunch. A pre-test and post-test are given to the students to assess knowledge acquisition. Near the end of the school year, the students are asked to participate in an essay contest. One winner from each school will be selected. Funding for the entire program has been generously donated by the Will & Jada Smith Family Foundation.