Meeting Waters YMCA will join over 5,000 other organizations nationwide in hosting Lights on Afterschool! on Thursday, October 18. The event is designed to showcase the role that afterschool programs play in improving academic performance, decreasing problem behaviors, and providing safe havens for children in the “danger zone” hours of 3-6 pm.

The Meeting Waters YMCA will host celebrations at each of its five ASPIRE sites. Public events will be held from 5-6 pm at its ASPIRE sites at Academy School in Brattleboro and its facility on Atkinson Street in Bellows Falls. Lights on Afterschool! events for families of ASPIRE participants will also be held at Meeting Waters YMCA’s three other ASPIRE sites–Oak Grove School and Green Street Schools in Brattleboro and Chester-Andover Elementary School.

During the events, ASPIRE participants will lead an activity and demonstrate other activities that they take part in at ASPIRE–physical activity, a cooperative group project based on the month’s theme, a nutritious snack, and more.

The Lights on Afterschool! events will also provide community and business leaders, along with Meeting Waters YMCA staff and board volunteers, a chance to talk about the critical role the regional Y’s ASPIRE, Snow Days, Kindergarten ASPIRE and various summer camp programs are playing up and down the Valley.

As Meeting Waters YMCA Executive Director Steve Fortier stresses, “High-quality, mission-driven out-of-school programs not only have a positive impact on the participants, they also support families and strengthen local economies. Through our ASPIRE and camp programs alone, the parents of over 500 area children can contribute to their workplace knowing that their kids are safe, having fun, and developing important skills in the “out-of-school” time. Lights on Afterschool! is our chance to showcase these contributions to the community.”

The Lights on Afterschool! advocacy events nationwide are coordinated by the Afterschool Alliance, a coalition of private, public and nonprofit organizations, including YMCAs.

Meeting Waters YMCA is a charitable, nonprofit, social service organization with administrative offices and program facilities in Bellows Falls, a camp facility in Springfield, and a capital campaign office in Brattleboro. Through these and various satellite facilities, its programs serve the children, adults and families of over two dozen Vermont and New Hampshire communities of the Connecticut River Valley.

Thanks to the support of local businesses, individuals and foundations, financial assistance is available to support families who can not afford the full program fees for any Meeting Waters YMCA program. Last year, families participating in Meeting Waters YMCA programs received over $180,000 in financial assistance and subsidized services.

Information about Lights on Afterschool!, ASPIRE and other Meeting Waters YMCA programs is available at www.meetingwatersymca.org, by calling the office nearest you (Bellows Falls: 463-4769; Brattleboro: 246-1036; or Springfield: 885-8131) or by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .