Afterschool organizations throughout greater Harris County align to put afterschool in the spotlight with a morning rally at Houston City Hall on Oct. 25. In the evening, Harris County Department of Education’s Center for Afterschool, Summer and Enrichment for Kids, or CASE for Kids, hosts a folk concert with the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts and nonprofit Musiqa.

The Greater Houston Lights On Alliance Rally is planned from 10-11 a.m. at the Houston City Hall Legacy Room, 901 Bagby, Houston, Texas 77002 with afterschool organizations throughout Houston. Council Member Robert Gallegos, District I, presents a proclamation. Youth presentations include speeches from seniors from Heights High School, messages from a college freshman who benefitted from afterschool, youth choruses, and more.

In the evening from 6-8 p.m., Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, 800 Bagby, Houston, Texas 77002, co-hosts a folk music concert with nonprofit Musiqa as musicians perform for about 300 students, complete with glow sticks and sing-along moments for the entire family. The Center for Afterschool, Summer and Enrichment for Kids, or CASE for Kids, invites children from afterschool programs from Sheldon ISD (Carroll Elementary), Houston ISD (Benbrook, Briscoe, Lyons, Park Place, Whidby elementary schools)  and charter school Academy of Accelerated Learning.

Facts about afterschool:

• Most juvenile crimes occur between the hours of 3-6 p.m. when children are left home alone after school.

• Afterschool provides opportunity for students to improve academic skills, explore new hobbies, engage with positive role models and exercise creativity.

• In Texas, 880,636 children are enrolled in afterschool; 1.5 million are waiting for available programs; and 935,057 are alone and unsupervised after school.

• Texas parents strongly support afterschool. Eighty percent of parents support public funding for afterschool; 69 percent say afterschool helps them keep their jobs; 62 percent say afterschool excites kids about learning; and 68 percent say afterschool reduces the likelihood that kids will engage in risky behavior.

Greater Houston Lights On Alliance Members:  Harris County Department of Education’s Center for Afterschool, Summer and Enrichment for Kids (CASE for Kids), Houston Endowment, the City of Houston, the YMCA of Greater Houston, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston, Houston Independent School District, the South East Texas After-School Association; the Education Foundation of Harris County, Harris County Precinct 1, Harris County Precinct 2, Out2Learn, United Way, and Houston Parks & Recreation Department’s Mayor’s After-School Achievement Program.