8,000 Rallies Nationwide Aim to Make Afterschool Programs Available to All

Prime Palm Beach County will host its Lights On Afterschool celebration on Thursday, October 24, 2019. The celebration will be one of more than an expected 8,000 such events across America as part of Lights On Afterschool, the annual nationwide celebration of afterschool programs organized by the Afterschool Alliance. This year, Lights On Afterschool will highlight youth voices in the upcoming national election, encouraging children and youth to share their thoughts with the next president and teaching them about our electoral process.

Prime Time and its community partners will call for expanding afterschool opportunities so that every child who needs a program has access to one, and discuss the benefits of afterschool programs, including inspiring children to learn, keeping them safe in the hours when juvenile crime peaks, and providing relief to working families. At the event, families and supporters will be encouraged to sign a petition that urges lawmakers not to deny or divert funding for afterschool programs.

Participants at the Lights On Afterschool celebration include Prime Time partners Palm Beach Zoo, South Florida Science Center and Aquarium, Green Mouse Academy, FLIPANY, Resource Depot, Lake Worth Playhouse and many more. The event will spotlight the range of programming available through Prime Time that supports school-day academic learning, caring for the whole child,  discovering arts and culture, leadership and career pathways and exploring technology.

What: Prime Time Palm Beach County Lights On Afterschool Celebration
When: Thursday, October 24, 2019, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Where: West Palm Beach Waterfront, 100 Clematis Street, West Palm Beach, FL 33411
Who: Partners, families, community members and supporters of afterschool
Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is Founding Chair of Lights On Afterschool, a position he has held since 2001.

Prime Time Palm Beach County is a nonprofit organization that provides resources and supports for out-of-school time professionals to develop programs that inspire children to be their best and allow them to thrive socially and academically. Prime Time’s integrated model of services is one of the strongest, most comprehensive and well-respected systems for measuring and improving out-of-school time program quality in the nation. To learn more about Prime Time, visit www.primetimepbc.org.

The Afterschool Alliance is a nonprofit public awareness and advocacy organization working to ensure that all children have access to quality afterschool programs. More information on Lights On Afterschool is available at www.afterschoolalliance.org.

The Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County provides significant funding for Prime Time’s overall operations. Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County, a special district created by Palm Beach County voters, provides leadership, funding, and research on behalf of the county’s children so they grow up healthy, safe and strong. For more information, visit www.cscpbc.org.

 

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