Lights On Afterschool

Lights On Afterschool, the annual rally for afterschool programs, is back for its 28th year! Every year on the third Thursday in October, more than 8,000 afterschool programs nationwide host celebrations and open their doors to their communities to showcase what they do every day to keep kids safe and engaged in learning. This year the event falls on October 22nd. 

hands and art supplies

The 2026 Lights on Afterschool poster has been unveiled!

This year’s winning design was created by Sarah R., a 7th grader and afterschool participant at South Asian Youth Action (SAYA) in New York. Sarah first joined SAYA through her school’s art club, where her creativity blossomed. Today, she’s also part of SAYA’s ARISE program, which helps young people become advocates for their communities. “Youth are often the ones driving progress,” Sarah says.

Afterschool programs like SAYA give young people the space to learn, create, and lead. Protecting federal funding for afterschool and summer programs means ensuring more young people have opportunities to discover their talents, find their voices, and make a difference in their communities.

As we head into election season, we have a rare opportunity: most elected officials will be in their home states and districts in October!

Send your elected officials an invitation to visit your program for Lights On Afterschool. We've attached a document you can edit with details for your program. Here’s how to reach out:

1. Find your elected officials’ websites
2. Navigate to the “Contact” portion of their webpages
3. Use the contact form to copy and paste the invitation language from the Afterschool Alliance website linked above, and select “Education” as your topic.
* Not sure whether your organization can lobby? Make sure you know the advocacy basics and the Nonprofit Rules of Engagement.

What’s next? The 2026 Lights On Afterschool posters are fresh off the presses! Register your event to receive 10 free posters featuring Sarah’s winning artwork to help promote your event and spread the word in your community.

Launched in October 2000, Lights On Afterschool is the only nationwide event celebrating afterschool programs and their important role in the lives of children, families and communities. The effort has become a hallmark of the afterschool movement and generates media coverage across the country each year.

The Afterschool Alliance organizes Lights On Afterschool to draw attention to the many ways afterschool programs support students by offering them opportunities to learn new things—such as science, community service, robotics, Tae Kwon Do and poetry—and discover new skills. The events send a powerful message that millions more kids need quality afterschool programs.