By Sharnae Scott, AmeriCorps VISTA Member

We are excited to announce the launch of our new Afterschool Community Champions Program! This program gives individuals a unique opportunity to build relationships with local policymakers, parents, business leaders, and many other key stakeholders in their county to advocate for increased support for the out-of-school time field. Champions spend one year working directly with GSAN to host Lights on Afterschool and Summer Learning Day events, engage local elected officials, and foster deeper relationships between afterschool program providers and their communities.

Champions will receive in-depth advocacy training and access to exclusive professional development opportunities including free registration to the 2018 Georgia Afterschool & Youth Development Conference, a free one-year subscription to the Georgia Afterschool E-Learning Institute in addition to an event planning mini-grant to support their efforts.

GSAN is currently seeking a group of passionate leaders to be a part of the very first 2018 cohort of Afterschool Community Champions! A successful Champion should be:

*Interested in increasing access to high-quality afterschool, summer, and expanded learning programs
*Committed to advocating for out-of-school time programs and the young people they serve
*Involved and informed in current trends in out-of-school time

Apply today if you are passionate about afterschool, summer, and other expanded learning programs and want to advocate for Georgia’s children and families. We are accepting applications until December 8. The inaugural class of Champions will be selected in January.

If you know someone who would be interested, help us spread the word by sharing this link.