Weekly Media Roundup: August 16, 2017

Tennis Program Helps Students to AIM High (Gainesville Sun, Florida)

“Katie Munroe credits her involvement with the Aces in Motion education program with motivating her to realize her dreams of going to college,” according to the Gainesville Sun.  The AIM afterschool program teaches students basic life skills and students receive homework help alongside tennis lessons and activities with members of the University of Florida tennis team. Munroe began participating in the afterschool program while she was in seventh grade. “I can honestly say AIM has helped me grow into the person I am today because it taught me to believe in myself, to have patience and to work hard to achieve success,” 18-year-old Katie Munroe told the Gainesville Sun.

The City’s Youth Are in Crisis (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin)

Boys & Girls Clubs of America president and CEO Jim Clark and Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee president and CEO Vincent Lyles write about the positive impact of afterschool programs in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “…with the right opportunities and the right people in their corners, youths make positive choices and go on to lead successful, productive lives as adults…. The persistent problems of intergenerational poverty and crime won’t be solved until we join together and commit to providing more opportunities for quality out-of-school programs that help America’s inner city and rural youths achieve three crucial goals: academic success, good character and citizenship and healthy lifestyles.”

Incoming No. Providence High Freshmen Graduate from Summer Boatbuilding Program (North Providence Breeze, Rhode Island)

Nearly 50 Providence-area students spent the last several weeks learning to design, build, and repair boats as part of the Youth Summer Boatbuilding Program. The program’s hands-on approach taught students science, engineering, and math fundamentals in a fun, challenging way while preparing them for possible future careers. “The boats are merely a metaphor; if they can build a boat and put their minds to something and see what they can accomplish, they start believing in themselves,” Henry Marciano of City Sail told the North Providence Breeze. “That’s the whole purpose of this program.”

Cabell County Students Share Views on Afterschool Programs with Congress (Huntington Herald-Dispatch, West Virginia)

This week the Huntington Herald-Dispatch reported that two Cabell County students shared their views on the value of afterschool programming with their elected representatives in Washington as part of the Afterschool Alliance’s Afterschool for All Challenge in June. Brothers Brennan and Aiden Shope met with U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin, as well as U.S. Reps. Evan Jenkins and Alex Mooney, to stress the positive impact their afterschool programs have had on their lives and to urge the members of Congress to support funding for out-of-school-time programs.