Where: Evansville, Indiana

Who: More than 2,000 participants, and 30 community agencies

Highlights: A unique coming together of the entire community -- local businesses, community programs, area leaders, parents, and youth -- to organize, fund, and celebrate Lights On. The spirit of the event is captured in a 20 minute firework display.  "Afterschool is about opportunities, and Lights On Afterschool is a tremendous opportunity for youth, families and communities to come together in celebration," says Evansville event co-chair Dan Diehl. The Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation (E-VSC) and Evansville community Lights On Afterschool event has been held for several years at Bosse Field, a historic baseball stadium in Evansville. The event highlights the importance of afterschool programs in the lives of children, youth, families and communities, and draws more than 2,000 people.

THE PROGRAM

Children and youth from area afterschool programs performed, more than 30 community agencies set up booths and provided games, food, entertainment, and Lights On t-shirts were provided free to everyone. The event culminated with a huge, exciting 20-minute fireworks display.

Opening ceremonies featured the Girl Scouts, Central High School Junior ROTC, and Joshua Academy singing the National Anthem. Dr. McCandless, the E-VSC Superintendent, read a Mayoral proclamation announcing Lights On Afterschool Day. Youth performances followed, including: Evans' Spirit Squad, Glenwood's and Harwood's African Drumming Ensemble, Delaware's Orff Ensemble, Carver's Touring Strings, Cedar Hall's Players with Pat Coslett, Dexter's Sign Language Choir, Howard Roosa's Spanish Club, Culver's Steppers, the African Elementary Choral Ensemble, and Lodge's Choir. Johnny Kincaid of Smokefree Communities, provided a kick-off for Red Ribbon Week activities, and Deputy Williams of the Sheriff's Department and Mary Dunham of Newspaper in Education announced the drug-free slogan award winner. The Boy Scouts were featured in closing ceremonies.

Area businesses donated door prizes that were given out throughout the event. Youth and parents signed a drug- and alcohol-free pledge written on a paper light bulb, and attached the light bulbs to railings at the baseball stadium. The Lights On theme was emphasized with a banner, paper light bulbs throughout the stadium, t-shirts with the Lights On Afterschool logo, performances by students from afterschool programs, and spotlights on kids sharing, "What afterschool means to me?"

SPONSORS

The event was funded entirely through community donations, including those from: The Evansville Courier and Press: Newspaper in Education; Vectren; Old National Bank; and the Evansville Otters.  For many years, the Evansville Otters baseball team donated free tickets to local afterschool programs. The Council built on that relationship and successfully recruited the team to lend Bosse field stadium to host Lights On Afterschool. The Otters also provided in-kind donations such as soft drinks, hot dogs and popcorn in addition to volunteering their personnel to staff the concession stands.

One of the highlights of the Evansville Lights On Afterschool event is the popular fireworks display. To cover the cost, the Council recruited a local energy company to be a community partner for Lights On Afterschool. The Council made a compelling pitch asking the company to literally help “keep the lights on afterschool for Evansville”. The company was receptive to the pitch and has continued to sponsor the fireworks display for the past 4 years.

The Council explored other opportunities to recruit sponsors by contacting other business groups in the community. For example, a local bank was recruited to help defray event programming expenses and the local newspaper donated ad space to promote the event for several weeks leading up to the actual day. The donated ad space was valued at $8-9,000.

These partnerships enabled the Council to produce a hugely successful Lights On event. A key factor in getting and keeping these partnerships was making sure to foster a personal connection with the sponsors. For example, in addition to submitting a formal proposal to the local bank, the Council also invited representatives from the bank to their planning meetings to help them become more fully invested.

Recognition
To recognize and thank their sponsors, the Council prominently featured the sponsors in all of the Lights On event materials. For example, all newspaper advertising, programs, yard signs and other promotional materials included a thank you to sponsors and featured their company logos. Following the event, the Council sent a big thank you card along with specially created CD of the event highlights to the sponsors.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

Organizer Dan Diehl offers several keys to the program's success:

• Celebrating the Community. "We have broad community involvement. This is not a school event. It is a community event. We have made it a celebration of community."
• Everyone Has A Role. "Because it is a community event, there is a great deal of ownership in the process. Various youth serving organizations make up the planning committee and help with volunteer recruitment, marketing, performance planning, and overall organization."
  
• Youth Are Front and Center. "The absolute, number one key to success is the youth performances. This is the very essence of why afterschool programs are important. The event gives our youth an opportunity to perform in front of thousands of people. This is an opportunity that they would never have without the event."
• For Sponsorships:
  
  • Frame Lights On Afterschool as a community event to increase participation from everyone.
  • Promote the event as much as possible i.e. take out newspaper ads, radio appearances, yards signs, television commercials.
  • When fundraising, focus on making personal connections. Identify an individual in the organization and keep them updated about your Lights On Afterschool event.
  • Be prepared to follow up with phone calls after submitting proposals.