Weekly Media Roundup: May 31, 2023

Denver Nonprofit Uses Chess to Keep Kids Out of Trouble, Westword (Colorado)

Phillip Douglas created the Make a Chess Move (MACM) out-of-school time program in Denver when his mentee was killed in a shooting in 2012. The program’s mission is to keep students safe, develop their leadership skills, and dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline through mentorship, support and positive activities including chess, civics, culinary arts and more. MACM offers afterschool and summer programs as well as employment opportunities for youth. "Every conversation that we have in regard to life, we relate it to chess," program coordinator Ge Wright told Westword. "And every chess lesson that we have, we relate it to the moves you make in life."

Keeping Kids Safe Through Summer Programs During Summer Vacation, KEVN (South Dakota)

Summer programs offer not only academic support to combat learning loss but also provide engaging activities to keep students safe. “In South Dakota, we know that over 75% of families have all parents working. So we know that there’s a big need for care in the summer especially,” Billy Mawhiney, the executive director of the South Dakota Afterschool Network and an Afterschool Alliance Afterschool Ambassador, told KEVN. “In the industry of afterschool and summer programs, 99% of parents approve of programs in South Dakota. If we can find ways to fund more programs or expand programs, we could really see a big impact on our education.”

She Found a Home at the Lighthouse. Now She Has a Full Ride to Notre Dame., Lincoln Journal Star (Nebraska)

Jenifer Guadalupe Solano Becerra joined the afterschool and summer program at the Lighthouse in Lincoln, Nebraska the summer after she finished fifth grade. There, she connected with mentors, got support with academics, and took part in community service activities. When COVID hit, she did remote learning through the program. “I started coming here and ever since, I've never left,” she told the Lincoln Journal Star. “They make you feel like home and they make you feel welcome in a way that you don't get anywhere else.” Solano Becerra, who is undocumented, says the Lighthouse’s support helped her stay positive and continue to pursue her goals as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was rolled back. She was recently accepted to the University of Notre Dame with a full-ride scholarship.

Kentwood Afterschool Program Helps Refugee Students Flourish After Coming to a New Country, MLive (Michigan)

Since 2006, the Refugee Education Center in Kentwood, Michigan has provided support to more than 4,500 refugees through its afterschool program and family service programs. Students attending the Project Faulu afterschool program receive academic support, participate in enriching STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) activities and receive invaluable social-emotional support through peer support groups and mentorships. “Some of the work we do here can’t be measured, and so we also look to make sure our students feel attached to their volunteers, that they really have a connection to them,” Meg Derrer, the executive director of the Refugee Education Center, told MLive. “We’re always looking to make sure students are moving in the direction of growing academically and in their social and emotional wellbeing, and feeling more and more comfortable in the school setting.”