Take Action

Your help is needed to maintain critical funding in Michigan to support after-school programs.  Help by contacting your local legislator and telling them how important after-school funding in the state budget will be to children, youth and families in your community.
Click for talking points.

Sample Letter

Effective letters:

  • Include your name and address, so your members of Congress know that you are a constituent
  • Ask for a specific action
  • Support your request with specific reasons

>> View a Sample Letter

Advocacy and Policy

Lights on After-School

Lights On Afterschool is celebrated nationwide to call attention to the importance of after-school programs for America's children, families and communities.

One million Americans and more than 7,500 communities nationwide celebrated the afterschool programs that keep kids safe, inspire them to learn and help working families. Remember to save the date for next year - Lights On Afterschool will be on Oct. 18, 2012.

Dozens of afterschool programs lit up local landmarks for afterschool, with 17 sites winning cash prizes from jcpenney for their creative plans to shine a spotlight on afterschool programs. Congratulations to Our Community's Children, Grand Rapids, MI, for being one of the recipients of this award and lighting up the La Grande Vitesse Sculpture.

The Afterschool Alliance salutes the many Lights On Afterschool partners and programs who make this event a success, in particular the After-School All-Stars, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, 4-H Afterschool, Junior Achievement, the 21st Century Community Learning Centers, Young Rembrandts, and the YMCA of the USA.

The Afterschool Alliance has many tools on their Web site for Lights On Afterschool.

Some tools to look out for:

 

In 2011 more than a million people rallied for after-school programs at ­­­7,500 events nationwide. Check out the list from Afterschool Alliance's 2011 Lights On Afterschool, with descriptions of hundreds of events.