Making the Case: Business Investment in Afterschool has Many Payoffs

When I’m presenting, I often talk about afterschool as a platform – a platform for academic achievement, health care, civic engagement, health and wellness, and the list goes on and on (that’s why we love afterschool!).  

Among the most compelling reasons, especially in this economic climate, is the power of afterschool to foster the creative and cooperative thinking, along with the basic skills, necessary to be a productive, innovative member of the workforce. Businesses have as much of an interest in fostering these skills as youth development practitioners, which is why afterschool/business partnerships make so much sense!  

Thanks to the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee, we were able to illustrate some of these exciting partnerships in a Capitol Hill roundtable. 

We brought in five amazing speakers: Dr. Tehani Collazo of CentroNia, Mark Keam of Verizon, Ed Worthy of ACE Mentor Program, Mark Casso of the Construction Industry Roundtable (CIRT) and Thierry Malley of the Pennsylvania Area Council of Boys and Girls Clubs. Before a packed room of senate staff, they shared why and how these partnerships play out. 

On the business side, the Marks made a strong case for business investment in afterschool programs, and they demonstrated that “investment” can mean a lot of different things. Mark Keam described the Verizon Foundation’s incredible online curriculum resource – Thinkfinity – which offers free curriculum that is engaging, culturally relevant, educational and experiential. Mark Keam explained that the Verizon Foundation’s investment in afterschool is, in some ways, as much self-interested as it is charitable – investing in kids ultimately means a better qualified workforce for companies like Verizon. As Mark said, “…we all have a role to make sure that afterschool is the best it can be.”  

 Mark Casso explained that CIRT’s involvement with the ACE Mentor Program is, similarly to Verizon’s work, about preparing the next generation for these sorts of jobs. But in the case of the construction, architecture and engineering industry, it’s also an issue of branding. He explained that many kids have the misperception that these sorts of jobs are low skilled, unglamorous or low-tech. The reality, according to Mark C., is something quite different.  It’s a high tech industry, and through their close partnership with ACE, they can show kids what really goes on. 
  

On the program side, Tehani, Ed and Thierry descibed how these partnerships bolster their programming and build community connections. Tehani explained that for CentroNia, an organization that provides afterschool programming, adult education, early childhood and school day education through a charter school, business partnerships yield all sorts of benefits, including funding, space and human capital. In turn, CentroNia prepares future citizens who are adept at navigating our increasingly globalized culture. A majority of CentroNia’s students are bilingual, and through CentroNia’s programming, students’ cultural heritage and knowledge is celebrated as an asset – one that will help them traverse our increasingly interconnected world.

 Ed explained that ACE Mentor is truly “..industry initiated, industry supported, and industry driven,” which makes for the strongest of partnerships, and also makes for an effective program. I was especially shocked (in a good way) to hear that 2/3 of ACE Mentor alumni are majoring or working in jobs in architecture, construction or engineering. Not too shabby! But that’s not terribly surprising, given that kids are learning about the industries from the practitioners themselves – ACE’s mentors, all from the design and construction industry, impart passion and excitement to their mentees while also dispelling myths about the industry. 

And we rounded out the panel with Thierry. In his experience, so many kids lack hope – they don’t think about job prospects or workforce preparation because they don’t see a future for themselves. To combat this lack of a vision, Thierry has partnered with the construction industry to put on job fairs for the kids. But these job fair are much more than walking from booth to booth and picking up printed information – they involve backhoes and other heavy construction equipment; they not only educate kids about an industry, but they show them what that industry physically looks like. What better way to provide a vision then to put it right in front of them?

As Thierry said, “Afterschool programs give these kids that hope. . . If we bring that union [of communities and schools] together, I think we can help a lot of kids.” 

Amen!  Do you know of partnerships between buisness and afterschool programs that are making a difference in your community?  Tell us about them below...
 

Rivka Burstein-Stern is Field Outreach Coordinator at the Afterschool Alliance. Bio.