Weekly Media Roundup: April 14, 2021

How YMCA Judson is a Constant in the Lives of Former Mill Village Residents in Need, Greenville News (South Carolina)

Shortly after the pandemic hit, the YMCA Judson Community Center teamed up with Street Church Ministries, Greenville County Schools and the YMCA Caine Halter branch to ensure families in Greenville, SC received food and essential workers had a safe place for their children. “[The new collaboration] has been a nice organic relationship that would not have happened without the pandemic,” YMCA Judson Executive Director Stephanie Knobel told the Greenville News. As the restrictions have lessened, the YMCA Judson is once again providing reduced cost in-person preschool, afterschool programs and summer camps in an area where 41% of the population lives below the poverty line.

Sanders Announces 'Tripling' of Funding for Vermont After School Programs, Milton Independent (Vermont)

On Friday, Vermont Governor Phil Scott and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders announced that funds from the American Rescue Plan will be combined with state funds to triple funding for out-of-school time programs in Vermont over the next three years, to ensure students have the academic and emotional support they need to recover from the pandemic and pursue their interests. The funding will greatly expand access to summer learning opportunities, and Vermont Afterschool launched a website to help families find affordable programs. “Every family in the state of Vermont, regardless of their income, should know that come this summer, there are going to be really great programs for their kids,” Senator Sanders told the Milton Independent.

When Will We Recognize How Important Afterschool Programs Are to Richmond Families?, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Virginia)

In a recent guest column for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Virginia Partnership for Out-of-School Time Executive Director Blaire Denson and NextUp CEO Barbara Couto Sipe detail the many ways afterschool programs have stepped up to support Virginia families during the pandemic. Programs across the state have provided safe places for students to do remote learning, meals for families, virtual programming that helps students explore interests ranging from robotics to art, and more. Still, they note, afterschool programs are underfunded, and many are suffering financially during the pandemic. “We know firsthand that afterschool and summer enrichment programs can make a real difference and help more kids emerge from this crisis strong, resilient and hopeful,” Denson and Couto Sipe write. “We urge our legislators and district leaders to ask kids what their local program means to them and use funding from the American Rescue Plan to address the unmet demand for afterschool and summer enrichment programs so no more kids are left out.”

'I Feel Like Everything Happens For a Reason' | Free After-School Program for Charlotte Kids Pivots to Meet Growing Need, WCNC-TV (NC)

A Better World, a free afterschool program in Charlotte, North Carolina, offers a wide variety of services and activities to meet low-income students’ needs holistically. In the program, students have access to group therapy with licensed counselors, academic support from certified teachers, and food. During the pandemic, the program quickly shifted to providing virtual programming and organizing food drop-offs to meet families’ basic needs. “It takes someone like us to make an impact in their lives to make it a better world,” Fundraising Director Beyonka Fulton told WCNC-TV. “We realized a pandemic can’t stop us.”