Afterschool Alliance

A phone call is one way to voice your concerns to the President. Dial (202) 456-1111 (TTY/TDD 202-456-6213) to reach the White House comment line. When you call, it is important to be clear, concise and direct.

When you call:

Let the President know why you are calling. Be sure to say your name, town and program name clearly. Below is a sample script. Draw from this script, but be sure to add personalized accounts of a program in your community.

"My name is __________ and I live in __________. I am calling about the importance of the 21^st Century Community Learning Centers afterschool program, and the funding that it provides to help our community run the [insert name of program].

The 21^st CCLC program provides more than 1 million kids in America with a safe place to go after school, including [insert number of kids/families] kids and families in [insert name of town].”

In addition to keeping kids safe in the hours afterschool, 21^st CCLC helps working families and improves academic achievement.

A recent survey shows that parents of more than 18 million parents say their children would participate in an afterschool program if one were available.

We depend on funds from the 21^st CCLC program to keep our kids safe and engaged after school. The working families of our community rely on these programs. Please, Mr. President, don’t balance the budget at the expense of our youth. Increase funding for afterschool programs.

Thank you.”

Sample Script for Calling the White House