From New York to San Francisco, America’s landmarks shined for Lights On Afterschool

Hernando De Soto Gateway to Memphis Bridge in Memphis, TN. Courtesy of Mary Graham.

Last Thursday, as America celebrated Lights On Afterschool for the 20th consecutive year, landmarks across the country lit up in yellow and blue to support the afterschool programs that keep kids safe, inspire them to learn, and give working parents peace of mind each afternoon after the school day ends and before parents get home from work.

Among the landmarks that lit up for this year’s Lights On Afterschool:

• In New York City, the Empire State Building lit up in blue and yellow beginning at sunset Thursday. At 7 p.m., Clear Channel froze two Times Square billboards on afterschool messages for 30 minutes.
• In Connecticut, the Walnut Hill Park WWII Memorial.
• In California, San Francisco’s City Hall.
• In Florida, there were be lightings across Orlando, including the Orlando Eye, Tower of Light, Cedar of Lebanon, and at seven other prominent locations.
• In Georgia, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta.
• In Kansas and Missouri, an afterschool message was displayed on the Kansas City Downtown Marriott and lightings took place at the Kansas Power & Light Building, the Waldo Water Tower, Meyer Circle SeaHorse Fountain, and Children’s Mercy Park.
• In Louisiana, the Superdome in New Orleans.
• In Massachusetts, Clear Channel lit Boston’s South Station in blue and yellow.
• Across Michigan, prominent sights lit up, including the Spirit of Detroit, Lansing Board of Water & Light’s central substation, and Ypsilanti’s Water Tower.
• In Minnesota, the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis.
• In Missouri, the Aquarium in St. Louis and the Navy Pier Ferris Wheel in Branson.
• In Pennsylvania, the State Capitol in Philadelphia.
• In South Carolina, the Furman University Bell Tower in Greenville.
• In Tennessee, three bridges in Memphis and the Korean Memorial in Nashville.
• In Texas, Houston’s City Hall, Aquarium, and Montrose Bridge.
• In Virginia, Hampton City Hall, the Hampton Roads Convention Center, and the Virginia Air and Space Center.
• In West Virginia, the Coliseum and Convention Center in Charleston.

In addition to these lightings across the states, many local programs lit up the night sky with glow parties, lantern launches, strings of hand-decorated lightbulbs, and more. This was a record-breaking year for lighting up landmarks at the national, state, and local levels, all calling attention to the importance of access to afterschool programs for children everywhere!

To see just some of the ways afterschool programs celebrated, visit our social wall for snapshots, posts, and videos of events across the country!