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Home > News > Ohio Afterschool Network Awards 20 Lights-On Mini-Grants to Local Ohio Communities

Ohio Afterschool Network Awards 20 Lights-On Mini-Grants to Local Ohio Communities

Afterschool programs make big impact on local students, communities

Columbus The Ohio Afterschool Network announced plans to award 20 $500 mini-grants to Ohio afterschool programs to highlight the impact of afterschool programs on local students and communities. Congratulations to the following Ohio programs and the cities that benefit from them:

A Kids Only Early Learning Center, Ashtabula
All About Children, Inc., Bolivar
Brightside Academy Early Care & Education (Frederick and Arlington), Akron
Cherished Children, LLC, Akron
Cherished Children’s ECDC II, LLC, Lisbon & East Liverpool
CincyAfterSchool, Cincinnati
City View Child Care Center, Lorain
Community Learning Centers of Wood County, Bowling Green
Culliver Reading Center, Mansfield
Forging Responsible Youth, Springfield
Horizon Activities Centers, Elyria
Madison Latchkey Program, Madison
Montgomery County Afterschool Collaboration, Dayton
Norwood Middle School After School Program, Norwood
Perry KIDS (Kids Involved Do Succeed), New Lexington
Project SAFE, Wellston Intermediate School, Wellston
St. Stephens Community House, Columbus
West After School Center, Lancaster
Wrapping Our Arms Around Learning (WARM), Parma
YMCA Child Care at Grace/Fort Meigs YMCA, Perrysburg

“Afterschool programs keep children and youth safe, support academic achievement and help working families – and they need to be available to all children, regardless of their parents’ ability to pay for them,” said Liz Nusken, Director of the Ohio Afterschool Network.

“We’re pleased to celebrate these dynamic and important programs throughout Ohio for the work they do to make students more successful,” said Nusken.

Awarded through a competitive bidding process completed in February, these mini-grants will allow Ohio’s afterschool programs to celebrate with other programs across the nation beginning in mid-March and running through May. Mini-grants are made available annually through generous funding by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Bureau of Child Care and Development.

Lights On Afterschool! is celebrated nationwide by the national Afterschool Alliance to call attention to the importance of afterschool programs for America's children, families and communities. Data indicates the positive impact afterschool programs have on Ohio’s school children, as well as the need to continue current and increase future funding streams. According to Ohio data collected from the Afterschool Alliance:

Nearly 30,590 of Ohio's kids are counting on the programs supported by the U.S. Department of Education's 21st Century Community Learning Centers initiative, the only federal program dedicated to afterschool.
28% of Ohio K-12 youth are responsible for taking care of themselves. More than 25% of K-12 youth in self-care would be likely to participate in an afterschool program if one were available in the community.
95% of parents in Ohio are extremely or somewhat satisfied with the afterschool program their child attends.
If the No Child Left Behind Act were fully funded, Ohio communities could have double the number of afterschool programs giving nearly 72,220 children a safe place to go after school.
An October 2006 report found that afterschool programs in Ohio are serving a high need population, serving more children than expected, and struggling to maintain their funding.

The mission of the Ohio Afterschool Network is to support children, youth, families, and communities by advocating and building capacity with a unified voice for sustainable investments in safe, healthy, and nurturing afterschool experiences. In partnership with the national Afterschool Alliance, the Ohio Afterschool Network encourages its 500+ members to hold events and has developed a toolkit to help create high-impact events.