Page 10 - Florida Sentinel 3-30-18

Local
THAP Launches 3-Year Training Program
Partners with THAP - Tahisia Scantling, Charles Young, Jr., Carol Minor, Derrick Blue, Al- Albert Lee, far left, with the BBIC, speaking to the class of business bert Lee, Livorno Williams, and Joel Barnum. owners.
Tampa Hillsborough Ac- tion Plan (THAP) is an- nounces the launch of its new PITCH (Push, Improve, Teach, Challenge and Help) initiative. In its initial phase, the East Tampa based project has partnered with the Tampa Bay Black Business Investment Corpo- ration (BBIC) and its CATCH (Coachable, Action- oriented, Timely, Collabora- tion, Help) program to offer a variety of business courses.
Nearly 45 entrepre-
neurs representing a array of professions from attor- neys to landscapers, will un- dergo 15 weeks of training on various topics including finance, marketing, time management, customer service and more.
The first group of trainees are from THAP’s 5508 Co-Working and Col- laborative Exchange.
"The primary purpose of 5508 is to nurture new and small businesses by helping them to survive and grow through the difficult
and vulnerable early stages of development,” says Der- rick Blue, Interim CEO of THAP. “The goal of incuba- tors is to increase the chance that a start-up will succeed, and shorten the time and reduce the cost of establishing and growing its business. That's what we're here to do, be the connec- tor.”
THAP has teamed up with several partners in this effort, including the Tampa Bay Black Business Invest- ment Corporation (BBIC),
the Small Business Devel- opment Council (SBDC), and TD Bank.
"Through the BBIC’s CATCH program at 5508, we are able to provide qual- ity training from skilled in- structors. This version of the program has been mod- ified to fit each individual business at 5508. I promise that they won’t be disap- pointed,” says Tahisia Scantling, an independent business consultant.
PITCH is a three-year training initiative at THAP
and will provide classroom instruction, technical assis- tance and mentorship to as- sist 5508 members and collaborates. Graduating participants will be equipped with the tools needed to compete in the marketplace. While PITCH is initially for 5508 mem- bers, THAP plans to open the program to the Tampa community in the near fu- ture.
For more information on THAP - please visit thapgroup.org.
PAGE 10-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 2018