With Unmet Need High, America Rallies for Afterschool Programs

(StatePoint) Afterschool programs give children and youth a safe place to connect and learn after the school day ends, and research shows that programs boost students’ academic achievement and help them engage with their communities. They help children succeed in school and in life by providing homework help, mentors, healthy snacks and meals, exposure to STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and other skills, college and career prep, and more.

That’s why a million people are rallying for afterschool programs at 8,000 events across the country this fall for Lights On Afterschool 2025, an annual celebration of afterschool programming. In Alabama, students and families enjoyed a spooky science lab with hands-on experiments, eerie activities, and hair-raising fun. In California, families joined a Dia de los Muertos celebration to honor culture, community and afterschool programs with a book giveaway, food trucks, arts and crafts, and student performances. In Idaho, students picked apples for a local food bank at an orchard. In Massachusetts, middle and high school students helped younger children at a Read-a-Thon.