Eatmon will work in Alabama and nationally to expand Afterschool
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Afterschool Alliance has announced that Erika Eatmon, Education Coordinator for the Birmingham Regional Empowerment and Development (BREAD) Center, has been selected to serve as a 2013-2014 Afterschool Ambassador. She is one of just 12 local leaders from across the country to be chosen for the honor this year. Each Afterschool Ambassador will continue directing or supporting a local afterschool program while also serving the one-year Afterschool Ambassador term organizing public events, communicating with policy makers, and building support for afterschool programs. Eatmon’s Ambassadorship is sponsored by Bright House Networks, as part of the company’s ongoing commitment to afterschool initiatives and to education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) topics.
“In Birmingham and all across the country, quality afterschool programs are doing a terrific job meeting the needs of students, families and communities,” said Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant. “Afterschool programs keep kids safe during the out of school time hours, help working families, and inspire students to learn by offering enriching activities like Tae Kwon Do, robotics and cooking clubs, as well as homework help, physical fitness, connections to mentors, and much more. As an Afterschool Ambassador, Erika will bring great energy to the work to build even stronger support for afterschool programs among parents, business and community leaders, lawmakers and others. We are profoundly grateful to Bright House Networks for supporting her ambassadorship and for its ongoing, generous support for the afterschool initiative. I look forward to working with Erika this year.”
Afterschool programs are under intense pressure. The Afterschool Alliance’s 2012 Uncertain Times survey found that more than three in five afterschool programs (62 percent) reported that their funding is down “a little or a lot” from three years earlier. Even in communities where local economies and program funding are faring better, program leaders express significant concern about their financial outlook and their inability to reach all children who need afterschool programs.
“I am delighted to have this chance to help increase support for afterschool programs, which give students opportunities to explore their interests and give parents the security that comes with knowing that their children are safe and supervised, with engaging, educational activities after the school day ends,” Eatmon said. “Afterschool programs are critical to students’ success in school, to their safety, to working families, and to the nation’s workforce and its economy. We need to increase resources to afterschool programs and work toward the day when there is a program for every child who needs one.”
The BREAD Center provides afterschool and summer camp programs, adult education, and summer food service programs to more than 150 students and families in the Birmingham metro area. The afterschool program has operated as a 21st Century Community Learning Center site since 2003. BREAD offers homework help, STEM projects, gardening, recreation, nutrition, character education, and the arts. Erika Eatmon has been with BREAD since 2009.
Each Ambassador organized a major event for Lights On Afterschool, the Afterschool Alliance’s 14th annual national rally for afterschool, held on October 17 this year. Last year, 1 million people participated in some 9,000 Lights On Afterschool events across the United States and at U.S. military bases worldwide. Bright House Networks is sponsoring the Lights On Afterschool photo contest again this year, in which the public will vote for the winner on the Bright House Networks Facebook page and one program will win $2,000.
“We congratulate Erika and all of this year’s Afterschool Ambassadors,” said Reinaldo Llano, Bright House Corporate Director, Community Relations, and board member of the Afterschool Alliance. “We look forward to continuing to support the afterschool community and to helping students, teachers and families with resources that lead the way in engaged learning opportunities, specifically with the STEM education initiative.”
The other 2013-2014 Afterschool Ambassadors are:
· Alaska, Juneau: Terri Campbell;
· Arkansas, Jonesboro: Rennell Woods, Executive Director, At-Risk American Male Education Network (AAMEN);
· Colorado, Fort Collins: María Ortiz, 21st CCLC Grant Director, Poudre School District;
· Kansas, Overland Park: Pamela Watkins, Vice President Youth Development Services, YMCA of Greater Kansas City;
· Louisiana, New Orleans: Cyndi Nguyen, Director, Vietnamese Initiatives in Economic Training (VIET);
· Maryland, Rockville: Elizabeth McGlynn, Executive Director, Girls on the Run of Montgomery County;
· Nebraska, Omaha: Gwynette Williams, Program Director, Collective for Youth;
· New York, Brooklyn: Omari McCleary, Program Director, Good Shepherd Services,
· Texas, Fort Worth: Miguel Garcia, Director, Fort Worth After School; and
· Washington, Cheney: Tammie Shaw.
One additional Afterschool Ambassador will be chosen and announced shortly.
Many more students across the country need access to afterschool programs. More than 15 million school-age children – more than one in four kids in the United States – are unsupervised after the school day ends. The parents of 18 million children say they would enroll their kids in afterschool programs – if programs were available.
