Manassas Park Lights On Afterschool Event Deemed a Success

The Lights On Afterschool rally held Thursday at the Manassas Park Community Center was deemed a success by city officials.

 The event was held to draw attention to the need for more afterschool programs to serve the millions of children nationwide who are unsupervised and at risk each weekday afternoon. 

Thursday's event was the 12th Annual Lights On Afterschool rally sponsored by the Afterschool Alliance.

Parents who attended the rally in Manassas Park  took away information on local afterschool programs that fit their child’s needs.  They were in good company, as more than a million Americans took part in the nationwide rally to support afterschool programs.

The Manassas Park Parks and Recreation Department provided information on its Leaders in Training program (L.I.T.) as well as its Teen Passport and Extended Care programs for school-aged children, according to a release issued by the department.

 Other organizations present were the Manassas Park Police Department, Yes You Can! Young Lady-Young Man., the Manassas Park Boy Scouts and other civic organizations from Prince William County.

 City officials said Manassas Park is committed to ensuring that every child who needs an afterschool program has one.

 The event was a reminder that such programs are needed to inspire children to learn and  to relieve working parents of worries about how their children spend their afternoons. 

 Research shows that students who attend afterschool programs regularly are more likely to improve their grades, tests scores and overall academic behavior. 

More than 15 million school-age children—one in four kids in the United States—are unsupervised after the school day ends. The parents of 18 million children say they would enroll their kids in afterschool programs if such programs were available.

In Virginia, 26 percent of school-age children are in afterschool programs, while 74 percent are unsupervised in the afternoon, according to 2011 State-by-State Afterschool Progress Reports and Consumer Guides published this year.   More results from that survey can be viewed here.

 The reports examines how Virginia is helping keep the lights on for kids and families after school, according to the release  It  reviews state policies, funding and other activities that affect afterschool programs, assesses the need in the state for programs, offers tips to parents seeking afterschool programs for their children and suggests ways that all state residents can support afterschool.  

 For more information on afterschool programs in Manassas Park, visit manassasparkcommunitycenter.com or call 703.335.8872.