Lights On Afterschool Carson City rally at Boys and Girls Club features city and business leaders

Hundreds of children, parents, business and community leaders will join the Nevada Afterschool Network today, Thursday, for a Lights On Afterschool rally at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Nevada in Carson City.

The event celebrates the achievements of afterschool students and 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. It is 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. Speakers at the rally celebrated the many benefits of afterschool programs, and has encouraged lawmakers, businesses and other to support afterschool funding.

In Carson City, participants in the Nevada Afterschool Network Boys & Girls Clubs's of Western Nevada Lights On Afterschool event will provide students the opportunity to write messages to the next president ahead of the upcoming election, participate in a coloring contest and engage in a host of fun activities, including creating ice cream sundaes provided by Model Dairy. The club is located at 11870 Russell Way. The event runs from 4 to 6 p.m.

While the kids engage in these important activities, members from our schools, local afterschool program staff, the State Department of Education, 21st Century Community Learning Center Programs, The Bureau of Child, Family and Community Welness, local leaders, parents and students will discuss the importance of afterschool programs. Organized by the Afterschool Alliance, Lights On Afterschool has been celebrated annually since 2000. This year, more than one million Americans will take part in the only nationwide rally for afterschool programs.

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 Nevada, in 2014, 106,228 children participated in an afterschool program, yet 135,210 or 39 percent of school-age children would be enrolled if a program were available.

Further, 92 percent of Nevada’s parents are satisfied with their child’s afterschool program (up from 79 percent in 2009), and 65 percent of parents agree that afterschool programs give working parents peace of mind. While 82 percent of Nevada parents support public funding for afterschool programs, only 28 percent report actually receiving assistance with the cost of afterschool. More work needs to be done to meet the great need for afterschool programs that keep Nevada's kids safe, inspire them to learn and help working families.

In March, the Afterschool Alliance released a new report on the state of afterschool programs in rural America. Drawing on data from America After 3PM, the report found widespread support for afterschool, with 85 percent of parents saying they are satisfied with their child's program. However, for every child in a program, three are waiting to become available. That's 3.1 million children in rural communities nationwide who still wait to access the benefits of an afterschool program.

“Lights On Afterschool celebrates the remarkable work being done by students who attend our after school programs," said Dr. Cynthia Freeman, executive director for the Nevada Afterschool Network. "It is a powerful reminder that afterschool programs offer a range of supports to children and families.

"Unfortunately, we don’t have enough afterschool programs, and too many kids are home alone in the afternoons or on the streets where they can be exposed to crime or at-risk. We must open more programs and make sure lawmakers invest more in afterschool. I am personally committed to doing all I can to ensure that, in the very near future, every Nevada child who needs an afterschool program has one.”

"We are all very proud of our afterschool students,” said Matt Sampson, Program Director at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Nevada. “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 federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers initiative. Since its creation, it has provided funding to allow millions of children to attend afterschool. We need to grow this funding stream for afterschool and summer learning programs.”

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Nevada opened in 1993 serving over 2000 children. With the addition of a 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant from the U.S. Department of Education. It now serves and additional 300 children, providing homework assistance, mentoring, tutoring, and classes and clubs in sports, recreation, mathematics, chess, and dozens of other subjects.

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, Lights On Afterschool and America After 3PM is available at www.afterschoolalliance.org.

The Nevada Afterschool Network supports out-of-school time programs to provide access to safe and quality opportunities for all school-age youth. Supports include access to ongoing professional development opportunities for providers, advocacy and assistance with policy development and achieving quality standards and opportunities to expand programming in under-served areas. To learn more about becoming part of the solution for afterschool in the Nevada, please visit the Nevada Afterschool Network, at www.nvafterschool.org or send an email to info@nvafterschool.org.