It's almost Youth Voice Week! From March 24-28, we're amplifying young people's voices as they share the issues that matter most to them. We'd love for you to join us.

"Organized Afterschool Activities as a Developmental Context for Children and Adolescents," a longitudinal study led by Dr. Deborah Vandell of the University of California, Irvine, finds that participating in afterschool programs benefits kids for life. This study follows a large sample of young people over 26 years to understand how various environments—including families, early education, schools, neighborhoods, and afterschool programs—affect educational, health, and career outcomes. 

On Wednesday Florida Power & Light volunteers were out at the Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida in Melbourne, cleaning and replacing flower beds, rocks and plants. The initiative is one of 20 events for FPL's Power to Care week, where hundreds of volunteers will come together March 3-8 to help local nonprofits and communities in more than 10 counties across Florida.

This week, YMCAs around the Tampa Bay region are working to raise awareness on the issue of drownings and help families protect their children.

The bulk of the money will support seven programs that will operate all year, a first for the agency which usually focuses on summer programs.

The local team named, the Gorillabots are one of the two Florida LEGO League teams to advance from state competitions to the world championship.

As part of an ongoing commitment to supporting youth education, Genesis and Genesis Inspiration Foundation recently invested in STEAM and arts programs in Florida. Genesis Inspiration Foundation donated $50,000 to Breakthrough Miami, a nationally recognized organization dedicated to closing the achievement gap in South Florida. Genesis Gives, the corporate social responsibility initiative of Genesis Motor America, also provided a hands-on STEAM workshop at Rita & Rick Case Club - Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County.

In partnership with Verizon™, STEM Next has curated bundles of lessons and activities from Verizon Innovative Learning HQ and created the following STEM Learning Journeys to help you implement these exciting STEM lessons and activities in your afterschool programs. 

Get fiscally fit in 2025! The Wallace Foundation’s StrongNonprofits Toolkit is designed to help afterschool nonprofits and youth-serving organizations strengthen their financial management to better fulfill their mission and deliver high-quality services. This toolkit covers six key areas to help you assess and improve your fiscal fitness.

Nearly five years later, a majority of afterschool programs are able to serve as many or more students as they served before the pandemic began. Still, most providers are concerned about their programs’ sustainability and staffing capabilities. Overwhelming majorities of afterschool program providers report offering their students academic enrichment, STEM learning opportunities, wellness activities, and time to develop life skills.

FPL’s FIRST Robotics Scholarship will award one high school senior a $20,000 scholarship, while the NextEra Energy Scholarship for Students in SECME (Science, Engineering, Communication, Mathematics and Enrichment). The scholarship will grant 10 high school seniors $20,000 each.