“This year, my Valentine is to a program that makes all the difference for me and for my family,” So began West Valley City, Utah, resident Amanda Owens in her Salt Lake Tribune letter-to-the editor in 2015. The “program” she went on to describe was her son’s afterschool program, run by the Community Education Partnership.

Amanda Owens is not alone. For the past several years, a number of parents of children in afterschool programs around the nation have sent similar letters to their local newspapers explaining from the heart why they love their children’s afterschool programs.

Are you a parent with a child in afterschool who feels the same way? Or are you a program provider with parents who might be willing to send a letter?

If yes, here are few questions Valentine letter writers might consider as they write.

• Do you love that your child’s afterschool programs helps with homework?
• Do you love that your child’s program keeps her or him safe in the afternoons and during the summer?
• Do you love that your child’s program gives her or him opportunities to get physical exercise, and provides healthy snacks or meals?
• Do you love the way afterschool program staff care for your child?
• Do you love the way your child’s eyes sparkle when she or he talks about what they do in the afternoons?

It’s easy to submit letters-to-the-editor; most newspapers will take them via their website or by email. To find out about word limits and how to submit, just do a web search for the name of your newspaper and the words “letter-to-the-editor submission.” If that doesn’t work, try going to the newspaper’s website, finding the letters section and looking for submission guidelines.

But the most important tip is the obvious one: Write from the heart!

That tip also applies to another way you can show why you love afterschool: social media. The Afterschool Alliance has created a simple toolkit with guidelines and a printable that you and the afterschool students, parents and providers in your life can use to share what you love about these programs.

Participating is simple: Just print a page straight from the toolkit, fill it out with the heartfelt reasons you love afterschool, snap a photo of the finished product, and share it on your favorite social media sites using the hashtag #AfterschoolWorks (for example, “#AfterschoolWorks for my students!”).

We can’t wait to see the reasons you and the parents of kids in your program love afterschool. Be sure to tag us @afterschool4all and @CTASN on Twitter and Instagram or @afterschoolalliancedc on Facebook so that we see your social media posts and any letters-to-the-editor that you get published!

This post was written by Rachel Clark and Matt Freemen and originally posted on the Afterschool Alliance website. Special thanks to the Afterschool Alliance for spearheading this Afterschool Voices initiative!
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learn more about: Afterschool Voices