MEDIA ADVISORY Contact: Chloe Louvouezo |
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DC Youth Flash Mob to Converge on DC Government Building to Students to Educate Mayor Vincent Gray and City Council Members
WASHINGTON, DC —About 30 kids, ages 5 to 14, will participate in a “flash mob” on October 20 to show DC elected officials how much they value after-school programs. The event is part of the 12th annual Lights On Afterschool, hosted by the DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation (Trust) and DC Alliance of Youth Advocates to raise awareness about the need for after-school programs that keep children safe, help working families, improve attendance and high school completion as well as inspire learning. The DC event is one of more than 7,500 occurring nationally on October 20 to highlight the need for after-school programs. The local event will feature students who participate in after-school programs in the District, such as Beacon House, City Dance and Kid Power. Using poetry and spoken word, the young people will make the case directly to council members about the importance of after-school programs. Speakers will highlight the impact of after-school programs on school attendance, achievement, and behavior. Speakers will include:
Mayor Vincent C. Gray, DC Council members, and several elected officials are expected to attend. “The young people want to tell their elected officials how much after-school programs mean to them,” says London of the Trust. “These students will tell elected officials how after-school programs contribute to positive youth development, to help keep them on track in school and in life.” Lights on Afterschool is a national initiative launched by the Afterschool Alliance to call attention to the importance of after-school programs for fostering learning and creating opportunities for children. The initiative was launched in 2000 with 1,200 events nationwide and is expected to include 7,500 events this year. More than one million people are expected to participate. For more information, please visit http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/loa.cfm.
#### The DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation is the primary resource for developing partnerships that expand and improve services and opportunities for children and youth in the District of Columbia, especially during their time out of school. The partnerships include public schools, city agencies, and employers, including non-profit providers. Since its inception in 1999, the Trust has provided grants, technical assistance, youth worker training, capacity building, learning opportunities, convenings, and policy support in the District. For more information visit, www.cyitc.org. |
