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Advocate for OST programs! Become an Afterschool Ambassador

Jul 28, 2014  Anne Lawrence

In recent years, the Bowne Foundation has been very pleased to work with the Afterschool Alliance to sponsor a number of “Afterschool Ambassadors” chosen from OST program staff in the New York City area. As we mark our eighth year of collaboration, we’re delighted to be able to build on the wonderful success we’ve enjoyed thus far. Particularly in the wake of recent budget battles, this is an important opportunity for OST program staff to be active in providing, supporting, or advocating on behalf of afterschool programs.

If you’re interested in the program, I hope you’ll contact Matthew Freeman with the Afterschool Alliance at matt@prsolutionsdc.com.  He’ll be happy to provide you with more information, and discuss whether you or an appropriate member of your staff might be suited for the program. I appreciate, of course, that you have a busy schedule and much to accomplish, and that the program might not be a good fit for some of you.  But I hope you will consider the many ways that the Afterschool Ambassador program could support your efforts.

The Afterschool Alliance is a national nonprofit organization working to ensure all children have access to affordable, quality afterschool programs. For more than a decade, it has annually selected a dozen or more Afterschool Ambassadors from communities around the nation.  The Alliance provides these afterschool leaders with intensive training, a variety of resources, professional consulting expertise, and a modest stipend as they work to promote afterschool programs in their communities and states, with special emphasis on the media and policymakers. 

Among other activities, Ambassadors participate in a two-day training session in August/September, organize local Lights On Afterschool rallies in the fall, participate in the annual Afterschool for All Challenge on Capitol Hill, and engage in a variety of other outreach efforts over the course of the year, supported by the Alliance’s Ambassador team in Washington. Ambassadors continue their important work with their current employers during their one-year Ambassador terms.  The Ambassador program is designed to complement and enhance the work that Ambassadors are already doing, in a way that builds their organizations’ profiles, furthers the Ambassadors’ professional goals, and serves the Alliance’s interest in building grassroots support for afterschool.

In recent years, we’ve been delighted to sponsor the Ambassadorships of these very talented afterschool leaders: 

  • Omari McCleary of Good Shepherd Services;
  • Patrick Pinchinat of Queens Community House;
  • Esther Grant-Walker of the Isaacs Center Afterschool Program;
  • Deepmalya Ghosh of the Child Center of New York;
  • Neha Gautam of South Asian Youth Action;
  • Alberto Cruz of the PS87 Afterschool Program;
  • Danny Peralta of THE POINT CDC;
  • Liz Hopfan of Free Arts NYC;
  • Nassim Zerriffi of Global Kids; and
  • Megan Demarkis of Harlem RBI.