Shorefront Y Rallies For Afterschool Funding

The Shorefront YM-YWHA Afterschool Program will sponsor one of 7,500 rallies around the nation for Lights On Afterschool. The celebration calls for expanding access to afterschool opportunities, and the rally will address the effects of budget cuts and freezes that hinder that goal.

The ninth annual Lights On Afterschool celebration is organized by the Afterschool Alliance, a nonprofit public awareness and advocacy organization working to ensure that all children have access to afterschool programs.

At the Shorefront Y’s rally, students of their Stars/OST Program will be performing to give attendees a first-hand look at the orograms’ impact. Organizers will also be touting their annual performance evaluation, which concluded that students in their program met or exceeded standards by 89.6 percent, with 57 percent of regular participants improving  in Math grades, and 48.7 percent in English.

In addition, organizers say the event will highlight three of the contributions that afterschool programs make to the local school district: keeping kids safe and healthy, inspiring them to learn, and providing working parents a valuable place to keep their kids active during afternoons.