Keeping the Lights On Afterschool for #Families

October 18, 2016


Contact: Toni A. Smith
       301.357.8433 ext. 7001

Keeping the Lights On Afterschool for Families

Landover, MD – On Thursday, October 20, 2016, at William Paca Elementary School children, parents, businesses and community leaders will come together to celebrate Lights On Afterschool. The national celebration is being held to draw attention to the need for more afterschool programs to serve the millions of children nationwide who are unsupervised and at risk each weekday afternoon. Locally, it is being organized to demonstrate the positive and powerful outcomes of communities working together to support the Prince George’s County Public School System. Lights On Afterschool for Families at William Paca Elementary School will be one of more than 8,000 such events across the nation emphasizing the importance of keeping the lights on and the doors open after school. 

Hosted by community partner In Reach, the Lights On Afterschool for Families celebration will engage students, their families and the community in a number of hands-on and engaging activities to reinforce the importance of afterschool programs. Participants in In Reach’s College and Career Ready 21st Century Community Learning Center’s Afterschool Program and Family Academy will be in for a real treat as the 2016-2017 program kicks off with this event.

Recent data from America After 3PM, the research series on afterschool programs commissioned by the Afterschool Alliance, shows a vast unmet demand for afterschool programs nationwide. In Maryland, 150,112 children participated in an afterschool programs in 2014, only 16%, yet 280,319, or 36%, would be enrolled if a program were available. Further, 87% percent of Maryland’s parents were satisfied with their child’s afterschool program, and 64% percent agreed that afterschool programs give working parents peace of mind for that same year.  More work needs to be done to meet the demand for afterschool programs that keep Maryland’s kids safe, inspire them to learn and help working families. 

“In Reach has enjoyed an enriching partnership with the William Paca family for over four years and I am extremely delighted to be able to host this year’s Lights On Afterschool event with such a dynamic principal, Ms. Dorothy Clowers, a cadre of dedicated educators and amazing families. We are all very proud of our afterschool students and families,” said Toni Smith, executive director. There's no reason that learning should stop at 3 p.m., particularly if the alternative is unsupervised time in front of a television set, or any of the dangerous or unhealthy behaviors that can ensnare children in the afternoons. Like so many other afterschool programs around the nation, ours is supported by funding from the Maryland State Department of Education’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers initiative. Since its creation, it has provided funding to allow hundreds of children to attend afterschool. We need to grow this funding stream for afterschool and summer learning programs.

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In Reach’s College and Career Ready 21st Century Community Learning Center opened its doors to William Paca Elementary School students and families in 2015 with a 21st Century Community Learning Center grant from the Maryland State Department of Education. The College and Career Ready 21st CCLC serves almost 200 children, providing homework assistance, tutoring, and classes and clubs in sports, reading, and mathematics, and dozens of other subjects at three Prince George’s County Public Schools. For more information about In Reach, visit www.inreachinc.org.

Lights On Afterschool is organized by the Afterschool Alliance, a nonprofit public awareness and advocacy organization working to ensure that all children have access to quality afterschool programs. Lights On Afterschool has been celebrated annually since 2000. More information on the Afterschool Alliance, Lights On Afterschool and America After 3PM is available at www.afterschoolalliance.org.

Turn the Lights On Afterschool!

On October 22, more than a million people in thousands of schools and communities across the United States will turn their lights on for afterschool by joining the only national rally for afterschool programs.

According to the Afterschool Alliance, more than 8,000 afterschool programs are expected to participate in the 16th annual Lights On Afterschool. The day will take shape in various community service events, museums, parks and recreation facilities, state capitols, malls, and other settings.

Here in Prince George’s County, we are honored and excited to take part in our third Lights On Afterschool event in collaboration with our partner school, Carrollton Elementary, at their Fall Harvest Festival on October 23, with crafts, relay races and workshops that celebrate afterschool programs as they keep kids safe, inspire them to learn and help working families.

Lights On Afterschool is organized by the Afterschool Alliance to bring attention to the need to invest in afterschool programs, which provide homework help, healthy snacks, mentoring, physical fitness, robotics, computer programming, community service opportunities, art and music, college readiness, and countless opportunities for hands-on learning.

“Quality afterschool programs help students hone their skills and discover their passions, preparing them to succeed in school and in life,” said Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant. “Lights On Afterschool events give children and youth the chance to showcase the talents they develop at their afterschool programs, which offer hands-on, engaging activities that are both educational and fun. But too many afterschool programs are without the resources they need to serve all the children in their communities who need them and families, schools, communities and the country suffer as a result.”

During the 2015 celebration, In Reach is looking forward to raising awareness about the value and necessity of afterschool programs in Prince George’s County, MD. In Reach's Executive Director, Toni Smith shared, "Afterschool programs are an extremely valuable extension of the school day that all children should have access to."

Help us protect afterschool funding. Sign the petition! For more information visit: www.afterschoolalliance.org

Lights On #Afterschool!

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 23^rd 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.

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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.