Weekly Media Roundup: January 26, 2022

Children of the Valley After-School Program Comes to Sedro-Woolley, Go Skagit (Washington)

An afterschool program that boosts students’ academic, social and emotional skills recently opened a new site in Sedro-Woolley, Washington. At the Children of the Valley afterschool program, students take part in team-building activities, eat healthy snacks and receive an hour of tutoring each day. “Seeing how happy and how excited the kids were to be there and to see this finally happen, it was very emotional and very exciting,” Executive Director Flora Lucatero told Go Skagit. “We want to provide a safe place where they can share how they are feeling emotionally in a supportive environment.”

Harrisburg Afterschool Program Helps Combat Gun Violence, WHP-TV (Pennsylvania)

Each weekday at the L.O.O.P. (Left Out Organization Program) Boyz and Girlz program in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, more than 1,250 students connect with mentors, get academic support and explore their interests. Dr. Anthony Burnett Sr. created the program in 2002 to keep students safe and help them succeed. “In a desperate time, there was violence in … the community and drugs and all kinds of different things so I said, you know what, I need to do something,” Dr. Burnett told WHP-TV. “So, I stepped up.… [Students] say, ‘Coach Duke, if it had not been for you, I don’t know where I would be. And that kind of makes me -- it gives me tears, you know, sometimes I tear up.”

Boys and Girls Club of the Magic Valley Now Offering After-School Program for Teens, KMVT (Idaho)

Thanks to a new afterschool program, teenagers in Twin Falls, Idaho now have a place to go for homework assistance, games and group activities. Elev8 at the Boys and Girls Club of the Magic Valley even offers weekly field trips to local attractions, including bowling alleys and movie theatres. “Our mission here is to enable all young people to become caring and productive citizens when they get older, and that mission doesn’t stop when they turn 13, when they become a teenager,” Jake Brasil, the Elev8 teen director, told KMVT. “They still need support and that is what we are here to give them, give them a safe place to be and surround them with caring people.”

Austin After-School Program Teaches Kids to Code, Spectrum News (Texas)

Each day after school, elementary school students at the Austin Kids Can! program in Texas are learning valuable computer skills while working together to develop online games. “These are all fundamental skills that kids at an early age benefit from,” Donna Raskin, executive director and founder of Austin Kids Can!, told Spectrum News. In “the computer science and coding [class], they [learn] how to problem solve, a lot of math and reading involved and a lot of critical thinking.” The free afterschool program is funded through the Andy Roddick Foundation and is offered at three elementary schools.