LANSING, Mich. — Governor Gretchen Whitmer has proclaimed this week as Lights on Afterschool Week in Michigan. The event celebrates afterschool programs and their impact on kids.
According to the Michigan Afterschool Partnership (MASP), afterschool programs give kids sage and engaging learning experiences, that can help them develop key life skills. They also say that having access to these opportunities gives kids something productive to do with their time, stay out of trouble, and connect with positive mentors.
Earlier this year, Governor Whitmer approved $50 million within the state budget to support afterschool programs.
“Afterschool programs ensure students are safe and engaged once they are released from school,” said MASP Executive Director Erin-Skene Pratt. “Lights on Afterschool Week is a great time for us to celebrate our afterschool programs and the opportunities they provide for both children and their families.”
“There are relationships, really, really meaningful relationships and opportunities to develop a sense a belonging,” said MASP Deputy Executive Director Trevor Davies. “And I think that that is, if nothing else, one of the core things that I think that all children really need, and that’s to belong. And these programs do that. They give a chance for people to see themselves in the adults around them, they get a chance to explore the things that they’re interested in.”