Dear [official]:

Congratulations on your campaign victory. My fellow [Virginians/your state] and I have signaled our support of you, and your views on what our children need.  Ensuring that our children are safe and cared for after school is a top priority for me.  I’m not alone; an independent poll found that 80 percent of [Virginia/your state] voters are concerned about the amount of unstructured time that children have, and 72 percent feel that afterschool programs are essential for their communities. 

Despite this clear consensus, more than a third of young people in our [State/Commonwealth] are alone after school.  These children are not only at unsafe and at risk – they are also losing out on important learning opportunities.  For their sakes, I urge you to invest in afterschool programs during your term in office.  Afterschool programs keep kids safe, help working families and inspire learning. 

I would like to ask that you open your office term with a show of support for the afterschool programs that we all value, and sign on to Afterschool for All.  Agreeing to be on the Afterschool for All list means simply that you support the goal of afterschool for all.  With your signature, you would join more than 18,000 individuals and organizations representing more than 30 million Americans who have signed on as Afterschool for All partners. Partners include governors, state legislators, mayors, police chiefs and prosecutors, including those from New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Denver and Seattle.  National organizations such as AARP; the Children’s Defense Fund; Citigroup Inc.; IBM; the Mellon Financial Corporation; the NAACP; the National Council of La Raza; the National PTA; the AFL-CIO; Time Warner; the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL; The US Conference of Mayors; and YMCA of the USA have also signed on.

If you support afterschool for all, please go to www.afterschoolalliance.org/a4ajoin.cfm.  There is no requirement for inclusion as an Afterschool for All partner, financial or otherwise, and it only takes a minute to sign on.  It is our hope that this list will simply serve to convey the broad and diverse support that exists for access to afterschool for all children.

Thank you for your consideration and support.  Your participation will add weight to this rapidly growing effort.

Sincerely,

[your name]

[your phone number]

[your email address]