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Thanks for taking the Afterschool for All Challenge at home!
On Feb. 7, 2013, hundreds of you across the country stepped up to the challenge and reached out to your elected officials to let them know that you support afterschool for all:
More than 200 state afterschool leaders and experts backed up your outreach with face-to-face meetings on Capitol Hill with senators and representatives to echo your message that afterschool works to keep kids safe, inspire learning and help working families.
| Highlights from home: Arkansas: The Arkansas Out of School Network worked with allied organization Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families to take the Afterschool for All Challenge to the state capitol in Little Rock on February 7. Child advocates from across the state met at the Arkansas State Capitol to participate in the legislative process, meet with local legislators, attend legislative committee meetings, and observe lawmakers voting on bills that affect the lives of children and their families. In conjunction with Kids Count Day, Arkansas Senate Bill 249 was introduced to provide $5 million to fund the pilot phase of the Positive Youth Development Act. Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe stopped by Kids Count Day to lead pre-k children in singing Itsy Bitsy Spider. Watch:
Pittsburgh: Director Mila Yochum of Allegheny Partners for Out of School Time (APOST) had several local advocates join her at a series of meetings at the local offices of Rep. Mike Doyle and Sens. Pat Toomey and Pat Casey. |
Congratulations to our 2013 Afterschool for All Champions!
Prior to the meetings with Members of Congress, we held our annual “Breakfast of Champions,” a gala event on Capitol Hill featuring Members of Congress and 18 State Afterschool Champions. Longtime afterschool champions Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mark Begich (D-AK), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) joined us to honor and thank the Challenge participants, and to remind them how important our work is to the kids, families and communities that rely on afterschool programs.
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| Our 2013 National Afterschool Champion, I.S. 318 Assistant Principle John Galvin. |
The Afterschool Alliance presented its 2013 national Afterschool for All Champion award to John Galvin, assistant principal and coach of the championship chess team at I.S. 318, a middle school in Brooklyn. Galvin was recognized for his dedication to his students and the chess program, which has helped build a culture of success at the school. I.S. 318 is in a high-poverty area and many of its students and chess players are from low-income families. Galvin mounted a community-wide campaign to fight budget cuts that threatened the chess program. The team and their journey to become chess champions are the subject of an award-winning documentary film, “Brooklyn Castle,” now available on video-on-demand.
The State Champions honored at the Afterschool for All Challenge are:
We'll be back next year, so plan to join us in person in Washington, D.C., in spring 2014! Click here to learn more about the statewide afterschool networks and how to get involved.
Thank you to our sponsors:
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