Weekly Media Roundup: October 3, 2018

Former NBA Player Brings Tech Lessons to Chicago Area Kids, Cook County Chronicle (Illinois)

In Chicago, a former NBA player is giving back to the neighborhood he grew up in through afterschool programs focused on science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM). Steven Hunter is providing up to $5 million to fund free afterschool programs in nine schools. They aim to build pathways to careers for low-income youth. The programs will feature hands-on, engaging projects meant to inspire a love of STEAM in kindergarten through eighth grade students. “We will be able to ignite economic development in the Maywood area by providing a platform that will inspire the children and immerse them in the tech community at an early age,” Hunter told the Cook County Chronicle. “It’s rewarding to provide third-graders with the opportunity to build their first drone.”

On Media: How Pittsburgh Students are Creating an Oasis Amid a Growing ‘News Desert,’ Next Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania)

In Pennsylvania, the Center for Media Innovation has partnered with an afterschool program to empower teenagers to develop their voices in a community without a printed newspaper. Students in the YouthCAST Leadership Network afterschool program are improving their writing and leadership skills through media training and ‘photo safaris’ with a Pulitzer-prize winning photographer and by interviewing community leaders. “This project alone will not solve the problem of news deserts,” project leader Andrew Conte wrote in Next Pittsburgh. “But in one struggling neighborhood, these young people started the process of bringing life back to their community’s shared story.”

Foss: New Generation Will Benefit from COCOA House, The Daily Gazette (New York)

In Schenectady, COCOA House aims to create a safe community for youth through caring, consistent mentor relationships. The free afterschool program provides children ages 6 to 18 with homework help, recreational activities and “specialty classes,” including chess and art.  Volunteers from Union College work to provide the students direction and promote healthy behaviors. “Kids need to know that when they come to the COCOA House we're not going to judge them just on their academics,” Executive Director William Rivas told the Daily Gazette. “We're going to ask 'How are you doing? How was your day?'”

School — Or, in this Case, After School — Popular with Students, Times Observer (Pennsylvania)

In Pennsylvania, the Warren County School District afterschool program takes a holistic approach to learning that is fueled by community partnerships. The free program engages elementary students in a variety of health and wellness activities, including exercise, social-emotional learning led by counselors, and drug prevention programming led by a local nonprofit. Students also take part in hands-on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) activities ranging from cooking to “grossology” experiments from a “Box of Junk.” “My engineering background really pushes these kids,” Project Manager Chris Haslett told the Times Observer. “I know how important it is to solve problems.”