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| Prince George's County Council Member Ingrid M. Turner, Esq. (D-4) and Kentland Community Center afterschool students |
Contact: Samantha Trotter
240.334.6167
What Does a Nonprofit Organization and Community Center Have in Common?
Collaboration
is Key in Afterschool
Landover,
MD | On Thursday, October 23, 2014, In Reach, Inc. in collaboration with
the Kentland Community Center celebrated Lights
On Afterschool, the only nationwide event celebrating afterschool programs
and their important role in the lives of children, families and
communities.
Forty
students ranging in kindergarten to eighth grade from surrounding schools enjoyed
an afternoon full of activities including decorating paper light bulbs, Lights
On’s symbol, competing in a relay race, and sharing reasons why they love their
afterschool program. While some students
took home winning prizes, everyone took home a book bag filled with goodies.
“Our Lights On Afterschool celebration
was a huge success thanks to In Reach. The kids were still
talking about all of the fun they had days later,” commented Tarik Brown,
Director of the Kentland Community Center.
All
over the country public officials recognized the special day. Maryland’s
Governor Martin O’Malley signed a proclamation claiming October 23rd the
official Lights On Afterschool Day in
the State as well did the Prince George’s County Council in a proclamation
presented by Council Member Ingrid M. Turner, Esq. (District 4) to In
Reach and the Kentland Community Center for their hard work and
dedication to providing children with afterschool programming in Prince
George’s County.
In
Reach
and the Kentland Community Center are both members of the Kentland-Palmer Park
Transforming Neighborhood Initiative (TNi), one of six neighborhoods in the
County that face significant economic, health, public safety and educational
challenges. Several TNi members attended and supported the event. Corey
Smedley, Team Leader, Kentland-Palmer Park TNi shared, “Education is the key to
success and our County Executive, Rushern L. Baker, III, has set the vision for
the County. Whether it is integrated school governance or Transforming
Neighborhood Initiatives, education is the foundation, and improvements will
take a collaborative effort.”
This
collaborative event was just one of many that took place in the county, and all
over the state, committing to increase awareness about the value of afterschool
programs and their necessity. It is just one way In Reach and the
Kentland Community Center work to continuously expand its afterschool opportunities
in Prince George’s County. Afterschool programs play a pivotal role in keeping
kids safe and healthy, inspiring them to learn, and relieving working parents
of worries about their children’s activities during the afternoon hours.
# # # #
In
Reach, Inc.,
a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization, mission is to prepare students for
college, work and life.
Kentland
Community Center is a facility of the Prince George’s County Department of
Parks and Recreation.
The
Afterschool Alliance is a nonprofit public awareness and advocacy organization
working to ensure that all children have access to quality afterschool programs,
organizes Lights On Afterschool. Read
more about the importance and value of afterschool programs at www.afterschoolalliance.org.
