Today Is the 20th Anniversary of Lights On Afterschool; Landmarks Are Being Lit Up, Events Held Across Country

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The lights will be on for afterschool programs today as students, parents, educators, business and faith leaders, policy makers, community members and others come to schools, parks, campuses, state capitols, city halls, museums, malls, and other venues to show their support for afterschool programs. The 20^th annual Lights On Afterschool will involve more than a million people at 10,000 events, with most taking place today.

The Afterschool Alliance organizes Lights On Afterschool to underscore the need to invest in afterschool programs, which give students homework help, mentors, robotics, computer programming, arts and music, sports and fitness activities, college- and job-readiness, critical thinking skills, healthy snacks, and team-based, hands-on learning. The 20^th Lights On Afterschool includes roundtable discussions with mayors and police chiefs, and events focused on conservation and the environment, growing and cooking healthy food, space exploration, child safety, technology arts, public policy, literacy, community service, pumpkin-carving, painting and smashing, and more.

From the Empire State Building to the Orlando Eye to the Pennsylvania State Capitol to the Superdome to the Spirit of Detroit to city halls in Houston, Hampton and San Francisco, landmarks across the country are being lit in yellow and blue this evening for afterschool programs. Clear Channel Outdoor is running afterschool billboards across the nation all month and donating some of its most prominent space to illuminate Lights On Afterschool, including digital billboards in Times Square and the lights on Boston's South Station. Organized by the Afterschool Alliance, Lights On Afterschool is America's only national rally for afterschool.

"Lights On Afterschool 2019 is a spectacular success," said Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant. "We are thrilled at the support for our 20^th anniversary. People are coming out to see the skills students hone and talents they develop at their afterschool programs, and the ways these programs help students succeed in school and in life. Afterschool programs keep kids safe, inspire them to learn, and give working parents peace of mind that their children are safe and supervised after the school day ends and while parents are still at work. But there aren't nearly enough afterschool programs to meet the need, and one in five students today is unsupervised in the afternoons. We must do better."

The America After 3PM household survey found that participation in afterschool programs has increased to 10.2 million students nationwide – but for every child in an afterschool program, two more are waiting to get in.

Last week, the more than 5,000 sheriffs, police chiefs, and prosecutors of the organization Fight Crime: Invest in Kids – a part of the Council for a Strong America – released a report documenting positive outcomes for children and teens who participate in high-quality afterschool programs. "From Risk to Opportunity: Afterschool Programs Keep Kids Safe" shows that the hours immediately following school remain the prime time for juvenile crime. FBI data from 36 states shows that most suffer spikes in crime from 2:00 to 6:00 PM. The report describes afterschool programs as one of the best crime-prevention strategies, an effective way to guide young people toward success in school and readiness for productive careers.

Governments, parents, philanthropies, businesses and others support afterschool and summer learning programs, but investments are under threat. For the third year, the Trump administration recommended eliminating funding for afterschool and summer learning programs. While Congress has rejected the call to eliminate afterschool funding, any cuts would mean that more children and youth are unsupervised and more working parents worried about them in the afternoons.

Programs are also a lifeline for low-income children who may otherwise go hungry. According to a report released yesterday by the Food Research & Action Center, more than 1.3 million children benefited from afterschool suppers at school- and community-based programs on an average weekday in October 2018. That is a 10.4 percent increase from the year before but, still, just one child received an afterschool supper for every 16 low-income children in the National School Lunch Program that month. "The combination of afterschool programs and suppers is a win-win," Grant said. "Healthy afterschool suppers ensure that children get the nutrition they need to participate in programs that offer them the opportunity to discover new skills and learn and experience new things, such as science, poetry, and community service."  

A list of Lights On Afterschool events is available here.

Nickelodeon, KIND and Clear Channel are generous sponsors of Lights On Afterschool this year.

SOURCE Afterschool Alliance

Related Links

http://www.afterschoolalliance.org