Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Roadtrip Nation, and Corporate Partners Join Forces to Bring Digital Career Exploration to Over 4 Million Young People

Press Release

ATLANTA, GA – MARCH 10, 2021 – The future is uncertain for millions of young people, even more so with education and support systems disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s why it’s more important now than ever to give young people the resources they need to prepare for life after graduation. Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Roadtrip Nation are announcing a new partnership introducing different careers to young people virtually. Thanks to support from The Coca-Cola Company, Navient, Dell Technologies, and Raytheon Technologies, millions of youth will now have access to Roadmap to Careers, a program connecting students to careers aligning with their personal interests and helping them take their first steps toward pursuing those opportunities.

“We are so excited to partner with Roadtrip Nation to expand our workforce programming and bring career exploration to Boys & Girls Clubs across the nation,” said Jim Clark, president and CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of America. “As our youth continue to navigate the impact of the pandemic, it’s critical that our Clubs have the tools they need to equip young people to be workforce-ready. Thank you to The Coca-Cola Company, Navient, Dell Technologies and Raytheon Technologies for their dedication to our mission. Your support will inspire millions of young people to achieve great futures.” 

Developed by Roadtrip Nation, Roadmap to Careers is a digital product to help youth explore careers relevant to their unique interests, empowering them to start taking steps toward those careers. By combining labor market data with Roadtrip Nation’s library of thousands of candid video interviews, Roadmap to Careers shows young people what it’s really like to build a fulfilling livelihood.

“We’re excited and honored to be part of this initiative,” said Roadtrip Nation president Mike Marriner. “We’ve spent decades building our database of career stories and honing the Roadmap to Careers tool to ensure that every young person can see themselves represented in an inclusive, vibrant future of work. Our goal is to empower young people to explore their career and education options and help them develop the confidence to take action to pursue their goals and interests, so we couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to connect youth around the country to our digital career exploration program.”

Boys & Girls Clubs members can launch Roadmap to Careers through Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s MyFuture platform. The career exploration tool provides young people with a state-of-the-art career interest assessment. The platform then matches the Club members with a wealth of stories and content illustrating how people like them got started in their careers within a variety of industries. Roadmap to Careers content then illustrates which educational and professional pathways young people can take to achieve a fulfilling career with a planning tool to help them navigate potential educational and career paths that sync with an online calculator facilitating research and planning for post-secondary education.       

Club members can also explore careers through workforce data—from projected growth rates to salary information—but they’ll also see the human side of each career through thousands of candid video interviews with the people working in those jobs.

“I believe our Club members will enjoy Roadmap to Careers because it exposes them to a wide range of options, from career pathways and post-secondary opportunities to paid work experience as a high school student… The earlier youth are exposed to careers, the earlier they will know the importance of the classes they take once in high school. This will help youth have a healthier transition into post-secondary education or directly into the workforce or military.”

– Michael Waite, senior director of career development and mentoring services, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee

Thanks to the support of The Coca-Cola Company, Navient, Dell Technologies and Raytheon Technologies, Boys & Girls Clubs members will be connected to career exploration resources:

• The Coca-Cola Company – As a founding sponsor of Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Workforce Readiness Strategy, Coca-Cola’s investment supports essential skill development, career exploration, employability skills, credentialing, and work-based learning opportunities.
• Navient – Drawing from 45-plus years of helping students pursue college, Navient is creating a digital hub of resources on higher education options and financial preparation for Boys & Girls Clubs members.
• Dell Technologies – Through Roadmap to Careers, Boys & Girls Clubs youth will be able to view any relevant internship and job opportunities available within Dell Technologies specific to their career paths.
• Raytheon Technologies – As the founding sponsor of Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s STEM Centers of Innovation and a supporter of Roadmap to Careers, Raytheon Technologies is investing in critical STEM skills development while helping students link their interest in STEM to careers at Raytheon Technologies. 

To learn more about Roadtrip Nation’s career exploration programs, visit www.roadtripnation.com.

Visit www.bgca.org to learn more about how Boys & Girls Clubs of America is preparing today’s youth for tomorrow’s workforce.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America
For 160 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA.org) has provided a safe place for kids and teens to learn and grow. Clubs offer caring adult mentors, fun and friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Boys & Girls Clubs programming promotes academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. More than 4,700 Clubs serve 4.6 million young people through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more about Boys & Girls Clubs of America on Facebook or Twitter.

About Roadtrip Nation
Roadtrip Nation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that humanizes career exploration through story and empowers individuals to connect their interests to fulfilling lives and careers. Through its award-winning public television series, New York Times bestselling book “Roadmap,” and educational programs and tools that provide visibility and insights into career possibilities and pathways, Roadtrip Nation gives people from all backgrounds the confidence and belief in their ability to persist through challenges and define success for themselves. Roadtrip Nation has been showcased at the United Nations Social Innovation Summit, Clinton Global Initiative, NBC Education Nation, TEDx, Talks at Google, SXSW, and the Harvard Social Enterprise Forum. For more information, visit roadtripnation.com.

Media Contacts 

Ashley Keyes
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
404-285-2326
akeyes@bgca.org