Our Vision
Afterschool programs keep kids safe, inspire them to learn, and give working parents peace of mind. They help children learn, grow, and reach their full potential, offering new learning opportunities that help students do better in school and in life. Children in afterschool programs attend school more often, get better grades, and are more likely to graduate. They are less likely to use drugs or alcohol.
But too many children are missing out. For every child in a program, three are waiting to get in. Nationwide, 7.7 million children are on their own between 3 and 6 p.m. The Afterschool Alliance is working to ensure that all children, regardless of income or geographic area, have access to quality afterschool programs. Our efforts are aimed at securing resources to expand programming and help programs be the best they can be. We focus foremost on underserved and disadvantaged children and communities.
The Alliance works to ensure that all youth have access to affordable, quality afterschool programs by engaging public will to increase public and private investment in afterschool program initiatives at the national, state, and local levels.
The Afterschool Alliance works to ensure all children and youth have access to quality afterschool and summer learning programs, wherever they live and learn. The following values are at the core of our work:
The Afterschool Alliance was established in 2000 by a small group of corporate and foundation philanthropies—including the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, JCPenney Company, Inc., the Open Society Institute/The After-School Corporation, the Entertainment Industry Foundation and the Creative Artists Agency Foundation—to expand afterschool and summer learning opportunities nationwide. Since our inception, public investment in afterschool programs has doubled.
Today, the Alliance works with a broad range of organizations and supporters, including policymakers, government agencies, youth, parent and education groups, business and philanthropic leaders, afterschool coalitions and providers at the national, state, and local levels, and leaders representing health and wellness, college and career readiness, social and emotional learning, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning, and more—each with a stake in afterschool.