Sample News Release Adapt this sample news release for your own event. Be sure to insert the latest data on afterschool need and supply in your state in the 5th paragaph using data from the landmark America After 3PM study. For more inspiration view this news release made by a program from a past Lights On Afterschool event.
For Immediate Release: Contact: [your program/rally contact] October 22, 2009 [daytime phone number] (day) [evening phone number] (eve.)
[Your program name] Lights On Afterschool Rally Features Mayor, Business Leaders
[Your city] Children, Parents, Community Leaders Join 10th Annual National Rally for Afterschool
[your city] – Hundreds of children, parents, business and community leaders came together today at a Lights On Afterschool rally at [name of school / location of event] to draw attention to the need for afterschool programs to serve the millions of children who are unsupervised and at risk each weekday afternoon in the United States. The gathering was one of 7,500 such events across the nation emphasizing the importance of keeping the lights on and the doors open for afterschool programs. Speakers at the rally warned that tight budgets are endangering afterschool programs here in [your city] and around the country, forcing many to cut back or even close their doors.
[Add event specifics, similar to the following]: [your city] Lights On Afterschool participants saw students conduct scientific experiments and perform, while [insert names of any leaders in attendance, such as your mayor, school officials, business leaders], parents and students discussed the importance of afterschool programs. This year marks the tenth annual Lights On Afterschool, sponsored by the Afterschool Alliance. More than 1 million Americans took part in the natiownide rally to show support for the afterschool programs that keep kids safe, inspire them to learn and help working families.
[Add here a quote from a notable participant, similar to the following]: "Lights On Afterschool celebrates the remarkable work being done by students who attend our afterschool programs,” [Name of notable] told the crowd. “It is a powerful reminder that afterschool programs keep children safe, inspire them to learn, and relieve working parents of worries about how their children spend their afternoons. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough afterschool programs, and too many kids are home alone in the afternoons or out on the streets where they can be exposed to crime or engage in dangerous behaviors. We must open more programs and refuse to let tight budgets endanger the programs we have by forcing them to cut back on hours or services, or close their doors. I am personally committed to doing all I can to ensure that, in the very near future, every [your city] child who needs an afterschool program has one. Afterschool is key to children's success.”
This year’s event comes just days after the release of compelling new data demonstrating the huge unmet demand for afterschool programs. According to the America After 3PM report, released by the Afterschool Alliance and sponsored by the JCPenney Afterschool Fund, 8.4 million children across the nation (15 percent of all school-age children) are in afterschool programs. But 15.1 million children (26 percent) are alone and unsupervised after the school day ends, including 3.7 million middle schoolers and 1.1 million elementary school children. Also, 18.5 million children would be in an afterschool program, if one were available to them, according to their parents. In compiling America After 3PM, researchers surveyed nearly 30,000 households across the United States. The research was conducted for the Afterschool Alliance by RTi, a market research firm.
In [your state], according to America After 3PM data, [click to find number for your state] percent of school-age children are in afterschool programs, while [click to find number for your state] percent are unsupervised in the afternoons and another [click to find number for your state] percent are in the care of brothers and sisters. According to survey, the parents of [click to find number for your state] percent of children in the state who are not already in an afterschool program would enroll their children in one, if a program were available to them – an indication of the considerable unmet demand for afterschool programs in the state. For more survey results, visit http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/AA3PM.cfm.
[Add specific quotes, names, similar to the following]: "We are all very proud of our afterschool students,” said program director [your program director]. “There's no reason that learning should stop at 3 pm, particularly if the alternative is unsupervised time in front of a television set, or any of the dangerous or unhealthy behaviors that can ensnare children in the afternoons. Like so many other afterschool programs around the nation, ours is supported by funding from the federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers initiative. Since its creation, it has provided funding to allow millions of children to attend afterschool. However it is woefully underfunded today, and all who care about afterschool need to show their support for full funding for the 21st Century initiative.”
[Add specifics about your afterschool program, similar to the following]: The [your city] Afterschool Program opened in 1999 with a 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant from the U.S. Department of Education. It now serves 250 children, providing homework assistance, mentoring, tutoring, and classes and clubs in sports, recreation, mathematics, chess, and dozens of other subjects. The program is a collaboration of the school system, YMCA, Museum of Arts and Sciences and three local colleges.
In conjunction with Lights On Afterschool events across the nation, the JCPenney Afterschool Round-Up program will kick off in JCPenney stores throughout the U.S. From Oct. 16 to Oct. 25, customers have the opportunity to “round-up” their JCPenney purchases to the nearest whole dollar and donate the difference to afterschool programs in their local communities that provide life-enriching programs for children in need. Last year, through “Round Up” and other initiatives, JCPenney contributed approximately $13 million to support afterschool initiatives across the country.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is the Founding Chair of Lights On Afterschool again this year, a position he has held since 2001. Lights On Afterschool is a project of the Afterschool Alliance, a nonprofit public awareness and advocacy organization working to ensuring that all children have access to quality afterschool programs. More information on the Afterschool Alliance and Lights On Afterschool is available at www.afterschoolalliance.org.
[Add a two-sentence description of your program with the url]
– 30 –
|
