Weekly Media Roundup: March 11, 2026

After School Programs Support Working Families, The Daily Sentinel (Colorado)
For Crystal Garcia, a working mom in Mesa County, Colorado, the afterschool program at Riverside Education Centers (REC) is essential, helping her daughter catch up to grade level academically while making it easier for Garcia to focus on her job. “When kids get out of school and they go to a program, you want to ensure that they’re surrounded by people who are going to watch them and make sure they’re taken care of and safe,” Garcia told the Daily Sentinel. “But when you hear about the engaging activities REC does — that your student is being introduced to learning and exploring things and getting homework done, interacting and building relationships all at no cost to families — that’s powerful.” The latest America After 3PM study from the Afterschool Alliance found that 3 in 4 Colorado families cannot access afterschool programs, and organizations including REC, the Boys & Girls Club, and Extended Hours are working tirelessly to fill the gap.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Bend Honor Longtime Resident Jim Crowell with Inaugural Service to Youth Award, KTVZ 21 (Oregon)

In 1999, Bend, Oregon resident Jim Crowell helped secure a historic building for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Bend’s afterschool and summer programs. He has continued to serve the Clubs as a board member and lifetime honorary trustee ever since. Crowell’s son Clark told KTVZ 21, “The old Bend High gym was the town's gathering spot; knowing that children today are building their own futures where [my father] once played basketball and attended dances makes the Club’s mission deeply personal for him.” Recently, the Clubs awarded Crowell its inaugural Service to Youth Award, which will be called the Jim Crowell Service to Youth Award going forward.

Roanoke’s Hope Center Launches Free Youth Dance Program to Keep Kids Engaged and Off the Streets, WSLS (Virginia)

At the Hope Center’s afterschool program in Roanoke, Virginia, students participate in a variety of free creative arts activities they otherwise may not have the opportunity to experience, including a new dance program. “We have the arts program that is a prevention program to get the kids off the street,” Yolanda Gibbs, program director at the Hope Center, told WSLS. “Honestly, the first step in preventing violence is to give children something better to do and something to strive for.” The Hope Center also provides academic support, meals and free clothes and home essentials to families.

YMCA Summer Camps Coming to Former Millsboro School, Coastal Point (Delaware)

Faced with long waitlists, the Sussex Family YMCA is expanding its ten-week summer program to include a new site, the former Millsboro Middle School in Rehoboth, Delaware. “Every day, thousands of parents rely on us for child care, where their kids will be safe and have a great time too. … We just believe this partnership would expand high-quality summer camp opportunities for people in this area,” LoriKay Paden, executive director of the Sussex Family YMCA, told Costal Point. The school district moved its middle school to a larger property last fall and the YMCA hopes it will be able to offer afterschool programs at the former location.