Fifteen years after launching Take Our Daughters to Work Day, and five years after revising the event to include sons, the Ms. Foundation for Women is pushing its offspring out of the nest.

Tomorrow's Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day will be the last one sponsored by the foundation, which says its creation is ready to fly solo, what with 3 million workplaces and 35 million children and adults participating annually.

"Each year, American families and businesses propel the day to greater success with little involvement from the Ms. Foundation, and the program is now ready to stand on its own," the organization said in a news release.

Since the event was launched, it said, "opportunities in the workplace for both men and women have changed dramatically. The day has left a noteworthy legacy that has helped to revolutionize the American workplace."

According to foundation spokeswoman Ellen Braune, the observance has become self-sustaining.

"It's so popular and so well-known, we don't need to put all the resources into it that we did in the beginning," Ms. Braune said.

"It's been claimed by the culture, and we're confident that it will continue on its own momentum."

The event will continue to be shepherded by George and Carolyn McKecuen of McKecuen Consulting Services in Elizabeth City, N.C. The couple has helped run Take Our Daughters to Work Day almost from the beginning.

The foundation's withdrawal shouldn't hurt the YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh's annual observance, according to Lillian Young, human resources director of the YWCA.

"The brochures and bulletins they provided have been exceptionally useful, but I think there has been enough information over the years that employers will be able to continue," said Ms. Young. The YWCA, she added, expects 50 children tomorrow, evenly split by gender.

"The children really look forward to it every year," she said.

At the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, Downtown, which is holding its 11th annual event, spokesman Neil Cotiaux echoed that sentiment.

"The momentum is very strong here and feedback from the kids is very positive," he said. "It's a winning program that makes a difference."

Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day has grown from a modest scope in its pilot year to include businesses large and small, unions, hospitals, manufacturing plants, arts groups, social agencies, schools and government offices. The latter list has included NASA, the CIA, the courts and legislative bodies.

This year, the U.S. Senate expects 300 participants. That body now has 16 female senators. Fifteen years ago, it had two.

Some workplaces simply invite employees to have their children, or someone else's, shadow them for the day. Others hold organized activities.

The Federal Home Loan Bank, for example, expects 61 children for breakfast and photos, an executive talk on banking and careers, writing and drawing contests about imagining their future success and the house of their dreams, and a chance to design and print their own business cards.

City government will give children some hands-on public safety exposure, said Dick Skrinjar, spokesman for Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.

"We'll have exhibits for kids to interact with along Fourth Avenue from police, fire and EMS," he said. In addition, the mayor has invited children of city employees to his office for milk and cookies and a chance to sit in the mayor's chair.

The law firm Cohen & Grigsby, which has held events on and off over the years, will introduce about 50 children to a range of careers, including paralegal, accountant and technology expert. They'll also visit the courtroom of Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Christine Ward.

Take Our Daughters to Work Day was created in 1993 for girls 9 to 15 years old, in response to a Harvard University study that found girls' self-confidence plummeted around age 12. The aim was to counteract that drop by showing them role models and career options for their future.

The concept caught on quickly, with more workplaces and schools signing on each year. But critics called it unfair to boys, and many organizations changed the event to Take Our Children to Work Day, even as the Ms. Foundation insisted that girls needed a day of their own.

Social conservatives protested that the event undermined the traditional female roles of wife and mother. And while many schools treated the day as an excused absence, others balked at giving students the day off. That has become a growing trend, with increased testing and attendance requirements mandated by No Child Left Behind.

When a 2002 study by the Families and Work Institute concluded that boys as well as girls needed to learn how to integrate work, family and community life, the Ms. Foundation formally included boys in the event the following year.

Firms that are committed to the concept won't be deterred by the foundation's absence, said Sandi Gross, events coordinator for Vocollect, a high-tech voice recognition systems firm in Penn Hills.

"They've set some really nice guidelines, and we do a good job of following them," she said.

"We've been doing this for five years," she continued. "It broadens the kids' job horizons, gives them insight into the real world of work, ideas for the future and a better appreciation of their parents."