World Vision’s KidREACH and REACH.U Programs Celebrate National Lights On Afterschool

Dozens of students, parents, and community leaders in Barbour County are rallying for afterschool programs Thursday, October 24 as part of Lights On Afterschool, which celebrates the achievements of afterschool students and draws attention to the need for more afterschool programs to serve the millions of children nationwide who are unsupervised each weekday afternoon. It is one of approximately 8,000 Lights On Afterschool events taking place across the nation this month to emphasize the importance of keeping the lights on and the doors open after school. Sites will celebrate the many ways afterschool programs are helping students recover from the academic and social effects of the pandemic and encouraged lawmakers, businesses, philanthropies, and others to increase funding and support for these programs.

Students and staff invite visitors to come and see some of the fun things that happen at afterschool programs, like KidREACH. The focus of the evening is to highlight the importance of afterschool programs and extra supports programs have provided since COVID-19 hit. Organized by the Afterschool Alliance, Lights On Afterschool has been held each year since 2000. The New York skyline will shine for Lights On Afterschool on October 24 when the iconic Empire State Building is lit in yellow and blue to celebrate. Locally, the Barbour County Courthouse will be lit up in blue.

Some 24.7 million U.S. children not in an afterschool program would be enrolled, if a program were available to them, according to a survey of nearly 1,500 parents commissioned by the Afterschool Alliance and conducted by Edge Research in May and June of 2022. That is the highest number ever recorded. Unmet demand for afterschool programs is significantly higher among Latino and Black children (at 60% and 54% respectively) than children overall (49%). Cost is the top barrier to enroll, cited by 57% of parents as a reason for not enrolling their child. Ninety percent of parents rate the quality of the program their child attends as excellent (51%) or very good (39%). 

“Lights On Afterschool celebrates the remarkable work being done by students who attend our afterschool programs,” KidREACH Program Director Carol Malcolm-Parsons said. “It is a powerful reminder that afterschool programs offer critical supports to children and families. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough afterschool programs even in Barbour County, and too many kids across the state and country are missing out on the opportunities they provide to learn and grow. We need to make vastly greater investments in afterschool. I hope we can all work together to ensure that every child who needs an afterschool program will have one.”

Community members and families are invited to stop by a site between 4-5 p.m. on October 24 and witness the engaging activities first-hand. Schools with sites to visit are Belington Elementary, Belington Middle, Junior Elementary, Philippi Elementary, and Philip Barbour High School. The theme for this school is National Parks and all sites will have something special planned for the evening.

World Vision’s KidREACH and REACH.U programs now serves 185 children, providing homework assistance, mentoring, tutoring, and clubs in recreation, STEM, and many other subjects. The program is a collaboration between the World Vision and Barbour County Schools. Funding is provided through the United States Department of Education's Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Center Program.

Lights On Afterschool is organized by the Afterschool Alliance, a nonprofit public awareness and advocacy organization working to ensure 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.