Weekly Media Roundup: February 23, 2022

‘Green Girls’ Take on Climate Change, Next City (New York)

For 20 years, CityParks Green Girls Empowered by ING has provided girls in New York City the opportunity to explore hands-on science activities in its afterschool and summer programs and is now sharing its environmental advocacy curriculum for free to other programs. The lesson plans focus on climate change and encourage students to collaborate with local organizations and develop plans to improve their community, such as removing invasive plants in local parks and clearing debris from area rivers. “The idea is to empower students, young people, to voice out their questions and who they are,” Mayra Sanchez, a program manager with Green Girls, told Next City. “We want to remove the stigma against science, be creative, and see science through a different lens.”

Boys and Girls Club of Alpena Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony, The Alpena News (Michigan)

Michigan State Rep. Sue Allor, R-Wolverine, and Alpena, Michigan Mayor Pro Tem Cindy Johnson attended a groundbreaking ceremony last week to kick off construction of a new facility for the Boys & Girls Club of Alpena. “We need more room. We need a bigger facility,” Executive Director Bradley Somers told the Alpena News. “We want to teach these kids more things — workforce development, culinary arts — we want to continue to prepare these kids for the future, to show them that there is light at the end of the tunnel.” The construction was made possible in part by $500,000 in funding from the state of Michigan. Th new facility is expected to be ready to host afterschool and summer programming by the end of the calendar year.

Northside ISD Needs to Hire 100 After-School Youth Leaders to Staff its Enrichment Program, NBC News 4 (Texas)

In San Antonio, Texas, Northside Independent School District's Learning Tree afterschool programs continue to face staffing shortages. Although 3,332 elementary and middle school students attend Learning Tree programs, 1,000 students are on wait lists due to staffing constraints. “Since Covid’s happened, it’s definitely been a lot harder to find people," Manny Bryant, a Northside ISD Staffing Specialist, told NBC News 4.  The school district is holding job fairs to fill the vacant spots.

Blackberry Farm Brings Expertise to Boys and Girls Club, The Daily Times (Tennessee)

For the past six years, Blackberry Farm, a Tennessee hotel and resort, has brought its chefs to the Blount County Boys & Girls Club afterschool program every few months to meet students and lead cooking and baking lessons. On Valentine’s Day, students worked with chefs to create and decorate desserts. The Blackberry Farm Foundation has also awarded grants to the Club to purchase culinary equipment and build a garden. “We are privileged to be able to offer our support to these incredible programs and hardworking advocates in Blount County,” Blackberry Proprietor Mary Celeste Bell told the Daily Times. “We want the education, support and community wellbeing that they provide to be available for generations to come.”