Weekly Media Roundup: August 12, 2026

Twin Falls Nonprofit Culture for Change Moves to Bigger Space to Serve More of the Community, Idaho News 6 (Idaho)

Culture of Change, a nonprofit offering afterschool and summer programs in Twin Falls, Idaho, will hold a grand opening for its new location this fall after outgrowing its original space in less than two years. The bigger space will enable the organization to serve more students and offer more classes simultaneously, giving teens the opportunity to explore interests ranging from cooking to podcasting. "We were just busting at the seams. Honestly, because they love the services that we create," founder Winnie Christensen told Idaho News 6.

City Camps Keep Kids Active, Connected, St. Louis American (Missouri)

The St. Louis Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry in Missouri capped off its free 10-week summer camps with an all-camps luau at Marquette Recreation Center, celebrating a successful summer full of engaging activities with more than 350 children ages 6 through 13. The summer programs provided STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) activities, a variety of sports, field trips, academic enrichment and healthy meals while offering a safe, structured environment for local youth at six of the city’s recreation centers. “A lot of kids live on their phones and technology. This is a chance for them to put it down and spend eight hours a day just actually being a kid and being active,” camp leader Dejuan Bolden, who attended the program as a child, told the St. Louis American. “I’m basically just paying it forward. Without some of these people that I met in these rec centers, I probably wouldn’t be the man that I am today.”

Standalone Boys & Girls Club Opens Its Doors in Covington, NOLA.com (Louisiana)

On August 10, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana hosted the grand opening of a new clubhouse in Covington, giving local students ages 6 to 18 a safe place to go after school and during the summer. The facility can serve more than 150 children daily and includes a gym, teen center, STEM lab, technology center, art studio and teaching kitchen. The Club was previously housed in a local middle school and could not serve teenagers. With the new building, enrollment has more than doubled from last year. “It shows that our community believes in its children and is willing to invest in their future,” parent Denisha Peterson told NOLA.com. “Building a permanent Boys & Girls Club sends a powerful message that our kids matter and deserve a place where they can grow, dream and succeed.”

Hundreds of Students on Oahu Still Hoping to Get Into After-School Programs, KITV-TV (Hawai’i)

While the YMCA of Honolulu’s waitlist for its afterschool program has shrunk from its 1,000-student peak, about 450 students are still waitlisted due to a shortage of qualified workers. To help address this challenge, the nonprofit is offering $500 credits to members who refer newly hired afterschool professionals. "I do have to cut what I'm doing and pick him up and often drive him around with me to do errands,” Nicole Ishida, whose eight-year-old is on the waitlist, told KITV-TV. "It's really critical for our whole family's well-being because when I have had him in other after-school programs, you can just see a big difference in his demeanor. He's so much happier. He talks about friends he's made, and just having that social interaction is so critical for kids at this young age."