‘Breakfast of Champions’ & Congressional Meetings Send the Message: Afterschool is Key to Student Success

Afterschool supporters from Georgia returned home today after a two-day visit to Washington, DC, where they encouraged Members of Congress, including Senator Johnny Isakson and Representative John Lewis, to support more funding for afterschool programs. The visit was part of the sixth annual Afterschool for All Challenge. Jill Riemer, Executive Director of the Georgia Afterschool Investment Council (GAIC), declared it “educational, important and successful.” Afterschool program providers, parents, and youth involved in afterschool joined the Georgia Afterschool Investment Council in Washington.
 
As part of the Afterschool for All Challenge, the Afterschool Alliance sponsored a “Breakfast of Champions” at which advocates from across the country, including NFL star and afterschool champion Michael Vick, were honored for their support of afterschool. Unfortunately, Michael Vick was unable to personally attend the breakfast, but his mother, Brenda Boddie, accepted the award on her son's behalf. At the Breakfast, Senator Johnny Isakson gave remarks and emphasized the meaningful opportunities that afterschool programming provides for Georgia’s children and youth.  Participants then fanned out across Capitol Hill for more than 100 meetings with Members of Congress and their staff members.  Riemer and her group met with Representative John Lewis, as well as staff representatives of Senator Saxby Chambliss, Representative Jim Marshall, and Representative Lynn Westmoreland.
 
The goal of the visit was to increase federal funding for afterschool programs and to educate lawmakers about the important work being done in afterschool programs.  The President’s proposed Fiscal Year 2008 budget freezes funding for the 21^st Century Community Learning Centers initiative – the chief federal funding stream for afterschool programs – at less than $1 billion.  That is far short of the $2.5 billion that Congress and the President authorized in the landmark No Child Left Behind Act for this fiscal year and more than $20 million in real cuts to the funding provided in 2002. 
 
“It was terrific to be with hundreds of educators, parents and students from around the country who all came to Washington to ask for more afterschool opportunities for our kids,” said Riemer. “I know the commitment and enthusiasm made an impression on Members of Congress and their aides.  Staff representatives of Georgia’s Senators and Representatives stated they would consider our request, and we’re hopeful our state representatives will conclude that the enormous benefits from afterschool programs are worth the modest investment – especially when federal spending on afterschool will continue to spawn state and local commitments across the state. Without that funding, afterschool programs and the children and families they serve here and across the nation will suffer.”
 
In Georgia, more than one million kids, may spend time away from their parents when they are not in school. Under current funding levels in Georgia, a little more than 30,000 children attend 21^st CCLC afterschool and summer programs.  If 21^st Century Learning Centers were fully funded, an additional 46,580 children and youth in Georgia could have high-quality programs to attend afterschool.
 
A recently published report by GAIC entitled The Current State of Afterschool in Georgia: Building a Strong Foundation, calls for increased attention and action to afterschool issues and outlines a strategy to create a collaborative effort, coordinated funding, and consistent standards for all Georgia afterschool and summer programs. The report highlights that of the 250 Georgia 21^st Century Learning Centers 95 percent serve primarily elementary and middle-school students. The GAIC report calls on the afterschool field to build on existing community-based programs, in rural and urban areas, to address the needs of Georgia’s older youth.
 
The Afterschool for All Challenge in D.C. was sponsored by the Afterschool Alliance, a nonprofit public awareness and advocacy organization working to ensure that all children and youth have access to quality afterschool programs by 2010. More information is available at www.afterschoolalliance.org.
 
The Georgia Afterschool Investment Council is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring Georgia's youth have access to high-quality, affordable afterschool and summer learning programs. For more information about the Georgia Afterschool Investment Council, please contact Rachel Wellborn at (404)527-8831 or rwellborn@afterschoolga.org. Information is also available at www.afterschoolga.org
 
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NOTE: For more information about afterschool, including research data and more, visit www.afterschoolalliance.org or call Gretchen Wright or Johanna Diaz at 202/371-1999.  For more information on the trip, contact Rachel Wellborn, 4/527-8831.