Hello Charlotte Neighbors,

We want to share an important update about changes to federal funding that affect our afterschool programs.

Right now, two developments are impacting 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) funding:

Proposed Cuts: The current federal budget proposal includes cuts to 21st CCLC grants, potentially eliminating hundreds of afterschool programs in North Carolina.

Withheld Funds: On Monday night, the Trump administration announced it is withholding previously approved education funding, including 21st CCLC grants, that was set to be released to states yesterday. More than 10,000 afterschool programs across the country, including ourBRIDGE, rely on these funds.

You can read more details about the withheld funds here: Summer and after-school programs at risk under Trump's K-12 funding hold

We were counting on $826K to support our two afterschool programs, which welcome 230 children each day. That’s 31% of the funding we had planned for the upcoming school year.

Not receiving this funding would mean a major interruption to the stability and routine of 180+ families that are counting on us not just for high-quality afterschool programming where kids are happy, but also for full, healthy meals, emotional support, academic help, transportation, etc.

What we need you to do:

Support our programs

Support our school supply and uniform donation drive

Programmatic and Community Volunteers

As an afterschool ambassador for NC, I’m not only focused on securing funding for ourBRIDGE programs but also ensuring that these funds are released as required by law. Contact your representatives and tell them you support afterschool programs.

Contact Links:

Gov. Stein

AG Jeff Jackson

Sen. Ten Budd

Sen. Tom Tillis

NC Rep. District 12 Alma Adams PhD

We want to assure you that we are actively monitoring the situation as updates continue to come in by the hour.

Lastly, we want to make sure you know we’ve faced uncertainty before. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when systems failed many of our families, we expanded our efforts and continued to show up for children even when everything around us closed down. We’ll do the same again with your help. 

Thank you for standing with us.

In community,

Sil Ganzó

Founder & Executive Director, ourBRIDGE for KIDS