News Release

October [23], 2025

Contact: [Name, Email, Phone]

[Your program name] Lights On Afterschool Rally Features Mayor, Business Leaders, Student Performances

Hundreds Join Call for "Afterschool for All"

[YOUR CITY] – [Hundreds/Dozens] of students, parents, business, religious, and community leaders from the [community]-area are rallying for afterschool programs today as part of Lights On Afterschool, which celebrates the achievements of afterschool students and draws attention to the need for more afterschool programs to serve the millions of children nationwide who are unsupervised each weekday afternoon. It is one of approximately 8,000 Lights On Afterschool events taking place across the nation this month to emphasize the importance of keeping the lights on and the doors open after school. Speakers celebrated the many ways afterschool programs are helping students succeed in school and in life, and urged lawmakers, businesses, philanthropies, and others to increase funding and support for these programs.

[Add specifics about your event, along these lines]: Students and parents at the [community] Lights On Afterschool event wrote messages to their elected officials, while hearing from [insert names of any leaders in attendance, such as your mayor, school officials, business leaders]. Speakers discussed the importance of afterschool programs and the supports they provide every day to students and families. Organized by the Afterschool Alliance, Lights On Afterschool has been held each year since 2000.

According to a 2025 household survey, the parents of 29.6 million children, more than half the school-age kids in the United States, want afterschool programs for their children – but nearly 7 million are currently enrolled. Another 22.6 million children would attend an afterschool program if it were available. That means three in four kids whose parents want afterschool programs for them (77%) are being left behind, and that includes kids in middle- and well as low-income families. Cost, accessibility, and accessibility are the barriers many families cannot overcome. It’s no wonder that 89% of parents favor public funding for these programs. 95% of parents with children in afterschool programs are satisfied with the program their child attends. [Add statistics for your state—you can find your state numbers at aa3pm.co.]

[Add a quote from the program director or a notable participant, similar to this]: “Lights On Afterschool celebrates the remarkable work being done by students who attend our afterschool program,” [Name, title and affiliation] said. “It is a powerful reminder that afterschool programs offer critical supports to children and families. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough afterschool programs, and too many kids here in [your state] are missing out on the opportunities they provide to learn and grow. We need to make vastly greater investments in afterschool. I hope we can all work together to ensure that every child who needs an afterschool program will have one.”

[Add other quotes if you have them.]

[Add specifics about your afterschool program, similar to the following]: [Your program] now serves [#] children, providing homework assistance, mentoring, tutoring, and classes and clubs in sports, recreation, mathematics, chess, and dozens of other subjects. The program is a collaboration between the school system and [list partners].

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. More information on the Afterschool Alliance and Lights On Afterschool is available at www.afterschoolalliance.org.

[Add a two-sentence description of your program with its URL.]