Newsletter Hip


Newsletter	October 2006

in this issue :: Declaration of Support: Project 2010 Georgia and Lights On Afterschool! :: Connect with Kids- “Middle School Kids Are Safer in After- School Programs” :: Georgia Afterschool Welcomes Our Newest Staff Member :: Funding Alert: Money Available for Afterschool Snacks! :: 100 Voices: A Policy Institute 2006- “A New Look at Early Adolescence in Georgia”

Declaration of Support: Project 2010 Georgia and Lights On Afterschool!

Project 2010 Georgia is a joint project between GAIC, the Afterschool Alliance’s Project 2010, and the Georgia PTA to strengthen our voice for support of positive, enriching out-of-school time opportunities. By signing the declaration of support for afterschool you will help send a strong message to Georgia’s leaders that afterschool and summer learning opportunities count for Georgia’s kids and working families. The goal is to reach 100,000 parents, guardians, grandparents, and concerned citizens so our shared voices can be heard together. As our voice grows and strengthens, more of Georgia’s local and state leaders will make afterschool and summer programs a priority. To download, print and mail your declaration of support click here. To sign up on-line go to
h ttp://www.afterschool2010.org/join_GA.cfm .

October 12th is Lights On Afterschool! day— a nationwide celebration to call attention to the importance of afterschool programs for America's children, families and communities. The Declaration of Support initiative will be launched as a part of this year’s 7th annual Lights On Afterschool.

Georgia Afterschool Welcomes Our Newest Staff Member

Rachel Evans Wellborn joined the GAIC staff as our Communications and Project Manager. Rachel was born and raised in Washington D.C., has a B.A. from Wesleyan University , and a MSW with a concentration in education and youth development from Washington University in St. Louis. Rachel’s past experiences include communications, community organizing, research, strategic planning, counseling, and policy development/ management. Most recently, Rachel managed and administered a health promotion research project funded by the National Cancer Institute focusing on the development of effective messages promoting screening for early detection of colorectal cancer in African Americans. Rachel’s experience and insights will be invaluable to our work and success in the coming years, and we look forward to working with her!

100 Voices: A Policy Institute 2006- “A New Look at Early Adolescence in Georgia”

Voices for Georgia’s Children hosted their second policy institute forum on September 28, 2006 at the Carter Center. This year’s focus was on the 10 to 15 age group and speakers included Kathleen Ethier, Adolescent Health Group Leader from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC); Deidre Johnson, Policy and Research Director of the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education; Karen Pittman, Executive Director of the Forum for Youth Investment; and Albert Murray, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice. Afterschool programs and services were discussed and highlighted by several speakers reinforcing the importance these opportunities play for this age group in spite of the lack of programs available to this population at the current time in our state. A report from this forum will be posted on the VOICES website in the coming months.

To find more information and download the Power Point presentations used during the policy institute, click here.

Connect with Kids- “Middle School Kids Are Safer in After- School Programs”

taken from Connect with Kids weekly newsletter September 27th, 2006

Studies show that when teens don’t go to an after- school program they are three times more likely to smoke pot, drink alcohol, skip school and have sex. And yet, each day, when the school bell rings, more than 14 million American kids are left alone. Experts say those hours after school are the most dangerous - especially for kids in middle school.

“The highest juvenile crime rate is between three and six p.m. - and in many neighborhoods, the juveniles that are doing that crime or getting in trouble are between the ages of 11 and 14 or 15 years old, and that’s the middle school,” explains Walt Thompson, Executive Director of the Georgia chapter of After School All-Stars.

Many high school kids have a job or sports, or some after-school activity. But middle-schoolers, Thompson says, “they are the neglected age... if you go into the neighborhoods, those are the kids that are creating havoc in the neighborhoods, those are the kids that are getting arrested, those are the kids that are doing drugs, those are the kids that are getting initiated into gangs and the girls are getting pregnant.”

That’s why, experts say, it’s crucial for parents to find an after-school program for their kids. And the best place to start is your child’s school.

By the time children arrive at most afterschool programs, lunch is a distant memory. A snack will keep kids from feeling hungry and let them get the most out of afterschool activities. Now that the school year is in full swing, it’s the perfect time to take advantage of available afterschool snack funding.

If your program serves primarily low-income children, there is funding available to help afterschool programs cover the cost of nutritious snacks, which can be as simple as apple slices and milk or celery sticks and peanut butter. Two programs- the National School Lunch Program and the Child and Adult Care Food Program- provide funding for afterschool snacks. The highest reimbursement rate is 65 cents per snack, which means that if a program serves 50 children snacks afterschool, they could receive up to $5,400 each year. If the program is in a low-income area, it receives the highest rate of reimbursement for all the snacks served. Otherwise, the reimbursement is based upon the children’s household income. These programs are available to any afterschool program that qualifies. The funding is based upon the number of children who participate and grows as more children are served.

To find out how to receive afterschool snack funding, contact Leslie Truman with Bright from the Start at 404-657-1779 (if you are a community based program) or talk to your school food service department (if you are a school-sponsored program).

To download a brochure from the Food Research & Action Center on the afterschool snack program, click here.

GAIC Staff

Jill Riemer, Executive Director
email: jriemer@unitedwayatlanta.org
phone: 404-527-7250

Rachel Wellborn, Communications & Project Manager
email: rwellborn@unitedwayatlanta.org
phone: 404-527-8831

Karin Hong, Coordinator

email: khong@unitedwayatlanta.org

phone: 404-527-7232

web: http://www.afterschoolga.org