Weekly Media Roundup: April 17, 2024

The CARE Center Collecting Snacks, Books for Upcoming Summer Learning Program, WHNT (Alabama)

In preparation for its summer learning program, the CARE Center in Huntsville, Alabama is hosting a food and book drive so each of the 300 students participating in its summer program will receive healthy snacks as well as several books to own. “Research shows that children can lose as much as 3 to 6 months of knowledge over the summer, and when poverty is considered in the equation, the results are much worse,” Andrea Bridges, executive director of The CARE Center and an Afterschool Alliance Afterschool Ambassador, told WHNT. In addition to providing educational and nutritional support in the summer, the CARE Center also offers afterschool programs, in-school tutoring and mentoring, and “bags of blessing” weekend food distributions to elementary and middle school students through its “Fuel Their Hunger to Learn” initiative.

Brooklyn Kids Map Solutions to Gun Violence, WPIX-TV (New York)

At D.I.V.A.S. (Digital Interactive Visual Arts and Sciences) for Social Justice in Brooklyn, New York, students ages nine to 14 are participating in an anti-gun violence asset mapping project. At the free afterschool program, students are conducting street audits, creating interactive neighbor maps, and identifying local initiatives and entrepreneurs tackling gun violence in their community. “We want to make sure they’re working towards economic justice and something that’s really going to serve them,” Clarissa James, co-founder and executive director of D.I.V.A.S. for Social Justice, told WPIX-TV. “So often we’re always looking at the deficits in communities of color. With our program, we are encouraging our students to highlight the assets of their community for that to be expanded on.”

South Peoria Kids Perform Various Types of Art as Trauma Outlets, 25 News Now (Illinois)

Elementary and middle schoolers sing, dance and choreograph their own performances at the Healing Trauma Through the Performing Arts afterschool program in Peoria. The program runs in partnership with the Annie Jo Gordon Community Learning Center and culminates in a talent show each semester that gives students a chance to express who they are. “We really want them to be able to find who they are within the performing arts to help them relieve some of the trauma they may be experiencing,” Youth Program Director Alynceia Boyce told 25 News Now.

Rep. Cuellar Praises Knowledge is Power Project as Answer to Boost Student Success on San Antonio's East Side, KENS 5 (Texas)

At 10 church sites across San Antonio, Knowledge is Power (KIP) Community Learning Centers provide comprehensive afterschool programming including career exploration, peer mentorship and more.  Earlier this month, U.S. Representative Hennry Cuellar joined a KIP celebration to highlight the importance of federal funding for afterschool.  “A quality education is necessary for our children to succeed in the 21st Century. The Knowledge is Power project will ensure East Side students are supported and have the after-school resources they need to perform well in the classroom,” Rep. Cuellar told KENS 5.