On the night of October 20th, the Korean Veterans Memorial bridge in Nashville – along with other structures around the country, like the Empire State Building and the Caesars Superdome – was lit up in blue and yellow.
The occasion? A nationwide celebration of afterschool programming. It’s called “LightsOn Afterschool,” put on by the Afterschool Alliance, and it’s an event that draws attention to the importance of afterschool programming for youth development and success.
While buildings were being lit up with blue and yellow lights, afterschool programs across the country were also shining a light on the impact of their work. Afterschool programs put on “Lights On” events to celebrate the successes at their programs, giving teachers, stakeholders, and parents an opportunity to see their important work.
CASE got to participate in this nationwide movement. All four of our afterschool sites (Donelson Middle, DuPont Hadley, DuPont Tyler, and LEAD Neely’s Bend) put on Lights On events. The events were designed to illuminate all the good that has been happening within the program.
Youth played a key role in planning the events. They decided on the hospitality, the activities, and students even wrote speeches to talk about their experience at CASE. When parents arrived at the event, they got to see their youth working together with others to put on a special event.
During the event, parents heard about the values and character lessons that their youth have learned, and they even got to participate in some of the games and community-building activities that their youth enjoyed. They also heard from youth about their time at CASE, and how the program has positively affected their life. CASE is honored to play its part in shining a light on the importance of quality after-school programming. We are proud of the work we get to do, and it was a joy to share that work with others.
CASE is a program of the Nashville After Zone Alliance. The Nashville After Zone Alliance is a network of coordinated after school programming for Metro’s middle-school students. NAZA is a partnership among the Nashville Public Library, MNPS, and other existing youth-serving groups. It is modeled on successful efforts in other cities and is organized around geographically-defined zones.
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