Shapiro administration distributes $11 million in afterschool programs for underserved communities

“When we invest in afterschool programs, we’re being smart about safety, and we’re saving lives. There’s no more important metric, when we talk about getting stuff done, for the good people of Pennsylvania,” Lt. Gov. Austin Davis said. 

Democratic lawmakers joined Lt. Gov. Austin Davis at the Northeast Frankford Boys & Girls Club in Philadelphia on Thursday to announce more than $11 million grants for afterschool programs throughout the commonwealth. 

The funding comes from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s Building Opportunity through Out-of-School Time (BOOST) Program, which helps fund programs for at-risk students in underserved communities throughout Pennsylvania.

“The number one cause of death for young people in America isn’t cancer or car accidents — it’s guns,” Davis, who serves as chair of PCCD, said in a statement.

“When we invest in afterschool programs, we’re being smart about safety, and we’re saving lives. There’s no more important metric, when we talk about getting stuff done, for the good people of Pennsylvania.”

Two of the grant program’s top recipients include the Pennsylvania Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs and the Pennsylvania State Alliance of YMCAs, which both received $1.5 million for their locations across the commonwealth. 

Forty-nine grants were announced in total on Thursday with a large share of that money going to local school districts and neighborhood centers or youth programs. 

“This dedicated funding — the first of its kind — will make it possible to bring kids off waitlists and into afterschool programs, retain highly-trained professionals, and invest in our collective future,” Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D-Philadelphia), co-chair of the House Afterschool Caucus, said in a statement.

“No matter what they may face at home or where they live, every student deserves the nurturing environment of an afterschool program. I’m thrilled about this investment in BOOST and can’t wait to advocate for additional funding in years to come.”