Resources

Opportunities

If your program includes youth ages 13-18, encourage them to enter the "Being an American" Essay Contest sponsored by the Bill of Rights Institute.

Entrants must submit a 1000-word essay that answers: How does the Constitution establish and maintain a culture of liberty?

All entries must be submitted online by Dec. 15.

Cash prizes will be awarded to entrants in each of the contest's five regions.

For complete rules and regulations, go to www.billofrightsinstitute.org/page.aspx?pid=1193#Section%20V.

For a lesson plan that coordinates with the contest, go to www.billofrightsinstitute.org/page.aspx?pid=1214.

Youth can find tips for writing the essay at www.beinganamerican.org/.

Register Now for the 2011 Washoe County Obesity Forum

The 2011 Washoe County Obesity Forum will be held on Thursday, September 8, 2011 at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Conference Overview
This conference will inspire individuals and organizations to support efforts to prevent and reduce obesity in Washoe County through education and collaboration across the sectors. There is no charge for this conference but you must pre-register online.

Who Should Attend
Healthcare professionals, educators, child care providers, social workers, out-of-school time providers, nutritionists, dietitians, students, counselors, recreation program leaders, parents, and anyone wanting to make a difference.

View the complete agenda and register online at www.gethealthywashoe.com or download the complete brochure.

Afterschool Meals Guide

FRAC is excited to introduce its new Afterschool Meals Guide, a helpful online resource to ensure that more afterschool programs are able to receive federal funding to provide healthy meals to children when the school day ends. Intended for afterschool programs, sponsors, state agencies, anti-hunger advocates and anyone interested in making nutritious meals available to children who need them, the guide walks through the basics of the Afterschool Meal Program, offers tips on how to get it started, and shares strategies on how to make it a success.

The Afterschool Meal Program is an exciting new opportunity available in every state to fund nutritious meals for children in afterschool programming. The federal funding comes through the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and the meals can help reduce childhood hunger and improve nutrition.

Visit FRAC's website to read the guide and learn more about the Afterschool Meal Program.

New Conference Call Series: Afterschool Matters

To increase participation, build awareness, and provide technical assistance for the Afterschool Meal Program, FRAC is unveiling Afterschool Matters, a new monthly conference call series, to discuss different aspects of the Afterschool Meal Program. Join us to learn more about the program.

Register now for the first Afterschool Matters call September 14, 1 p.m. -- Conducting Outreach for the Afterschool Meal Program

Request – STEM Storybook Profiles

The Afterschool Alliance is looking for stories of amazing STEM professionals who volunteer their time in afterschool STEM programs. We are compiling profiles of such individuals for our STEM website to serve as guidance and encouragement for others to get involved in afterschool programs in their community. These profiles will be similar to our Storybook project profiles that can be found at http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/storybook/gallery.cfm.

If you are working with STEM professionals in your program or know of such professionals involved in afterschool programs in your area (or have questions!) please contact Ramya Sankar at rsankar@afterschoolalliance.org.

Explore Program

The Lunar and Planetary Institute's Explore! program is designed to engage children in space and planetary science in libraries and other out-of-classroom environments. Explore! investigations encompass lunar exploration; the planets Earth, Jupiter, and Mars; rockets; health in space; and more. Since its inception over a decade ago, the Explore! program has grown to support a community of more than 600 individuals in 28 states – all trained to bring space and planetary science to their children's and youth programs. Modules, workshops, and webinars are funded by the National Science Foundation and NASA. Some key features ofExplore! include:

Explore!, Department of Education and Public Outreach, Lunar and Planetary Institute
3600 Bay Area Boulevard, Houston TX 77058, explore@lpi.usra.edu

NPASS

The National Partnerships for After School Science (NPASS and NPASS2), based at EDC in Newton Mass., www.edc.org, is building on existing state-based out of school time professional development infrastructures to create new, state-based cadres of professional Science Trainers who can provide long-term training and technical assistance to the afterschool field.

Over 500 NPASS afterschool agencies in seven NPASS states (CA, MD, MN, MO, NH, NJ, OH) now send their staff six times a year to NPASS professional development workshops and are delivering extended, research-based, hands-on science and engineering projects to their students every week during the school year. NPASS students are mostly elementary school age but with a significant participation of middle and high school students in some states.

NPASS is demonstrating the benefits of intense and continuous training and programming, and that the afterschool field has the capacity to grow a new stratum of out of school time workers who are accomplished and effective informal science leaders.

For more information visit: http://npass2.edc.org or contact Principal Investigator Charlie Hutchison at chutchison@edc.org