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Fayette County Joins the Nation to Celebrate Lights On Afterschool!
Posted on November 6, 2008
On Thursday, October 16, 2008, the Private Industry Council of Westmoreland/Fayette, Inc.(PIC) sponsored a Lights on Afterschool! rally in support of after school programs. PIC was one of 7,500 sites across the nation sending the message of the importance of after school experiences. The benefits of quality after school programs are clear. They support families by ensuring that children are safe and productive when the school day ends; they make our community stronger by involving students, parents, business leaders, and volunteers; and they give children the opportunity to discover hidden talents as they grow academically and socially. PIC is currently operating three 21st Century Community Learning Centers in Fayette County in collaboration with TAME and its DARE2XL curriculum model. The primary focus of these centers is to address the needs of targeted at-risk students and their families in academic, character, social, and cultural education activities that improve scholastic performance and individual development. The 2008 Lights On Afterschool! also celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers initiative, which is currently the major funding stream for PIC's after school programs. The 21st Century Community Learning Center Program has made after school programs available to hundreds of thousands of children across the nation over the last decade. Still, funding has not kept up with demand and millions of children are alone and unsupervised each afternoon after the school days ends. The October 16th rally featured student performances and guest speakers including Dr. Donald Sheffield, founder of the innovative DARE2XL curriculum, PA State Trooper Brian D. Burden, Dr. Emmanuel Osagie, chancellor of Penn State Fayette, Joseph Segilia, director of outreach for Penn State Fayette and a member of the PIC's 21st Century Community Learning Center program's advisory board. Over 150 people attended the event, including parents, media, community members, school officials, policy makers, and after school program participants. All those who spoke gave inspirational speeches on the importance of believing in yourself, holding yourself accountable, and the importance of after school programming. Dr. Osagie spoke eloquently about the importance of having a safe, stimulating place for kids to go to after the school day ends. Dr. Sheffield's expression, "Excellence begins….when excuses stop", his life experience, and his advice to parents about the importance of fostering a work ethic in their children were an inspiration to all. Trooper Burden's presentation (focused primarily towards the children) illustrated the all-important lesson that "no one can stop you from succeeding except yourself". Chuck Burtyk and Pat Jones of the Private Industry Council also spoke on how PIC became the administrator of the DARE2XL program in Fayette County and recognized those who work tirelessly to make the program a success. The highlight of the evening was seeing the children perform the raps they routinely recite during the after school program and share their essays on "What DARE2XL has done for me". The Private Industry Council wishes to thank Penn State Fayette for providing the venue for the event; the staff involved for helping to make the event a success; the Fayette County Commissioners for recognizing our organization's efforts to send the message of the benefits of quality after school programming with an official proclamation; the guest speakers for their inspiring words; Chad Rice, 2007 draft pick for the Pittsburgh Pirates for being on hand to give autographs; and the parents and children who attended the event. For more information about PIC's DARE2XL after school program, please contact Pat Jones, youth employment and training supervisor at (724) 434-5627. Background on Lights On Afterschool! and the Afterschool Alliance is available at www.afterschoolalliance.org
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