A proclamation celebrating Denver afterschool programs and the 2016 annual National Lights on Afterschool Day.
Experience. We good. We coordinated tonight. That was awesome. All right. Thank you all. Thank you all. The perfect segway into Councilman Clark, will you now please read Proclamation 99? Thank you, Mr. President. I have proclamation number 16, dash 0989 celebrating Denver afterschool programs and the 2016 Annual National Lights on after school day. Whereas the Denver City Council recognizes that afterschool programs make a lifelong difference for kids and their parents. And. WHEREAS, students who regularly attend high quality afterschool programs benefit in terms of academic performance, social and emotional learning and health and wellness. And. WHEREAS, quality afterschool programs provide students with access to academic support. Music, arts, sports, leadership, development. Conflict resolution and more. Building many important 21st century skills that inspire, increase confidence, and make connections to future education and career opportunities. And. Whereas, research finds that parents miss an average of eight days of work per year due to the lack of after school care for their children. Underscoring the importance of these programs in supporting working families and the economic strength of our great city. And. Whereas, the Denver Afterschool Alliance connects and unites providers, schools and city officials, families, funders and youth to create a long term collaborative plan for high quality afterschool programs citywide. And. WHEREAS, The Denver City Council pledges to support afterschool programs so that Denver's children and families have access to programs that support their success and strengthen our city. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed by the Council of the City and County of Denver, Section one, that the Denver City Council recognizes the outstanding leadership of the Denver Afterschool Alliance and bringing together all stakeholders to create a collaborative, long term plan for our city's afterschool system and recognizes. Thursday, October 20th, 2016, as National Lights on Afterschool Day Section two that the clerk of the city and county of Denver shall affix the CEO of the city and county of Denver to this proclamation and transmit it to the Office of Children's Affairs. Thank you. Councilman. Clerk, your motion to adopt. Thank you, Mr. President. I move the proclamation. Nine, eight, nine. Be adopted. It has been moved. And second, it comes from Clark. Your comments. Thank you, Mr. President. I think it's always a good. Night when. We have the opportunity to bring young people into the chamber. And I know that this sitting here for all of you is way less exciting than what you do after school every day. And that's a good thing because you. All benefit from these programs. And I love your shirts. For those who can't see, it says After school matters because I matter and you do matter. You are the future of our city. You're the future of everything for us. And so making sure that we're providing. You. Young people with all the tools and all of the programs that you need to be successful. Because, you know, I'm wearing this hat tonight and I'm a CSC Ram and there are a lot. Of SIU buffs up here. But we will all agree that what we want is for you to be a RAM or a buff or wherever. You want, and to keep learning and go to college and be successful. And I think that these afterschool programs, as a dad with two kids who are in afterschool programs every day, well, my wife and I are working. I know just how valuable they are for my family and I know just how valuable they are for so many families. And so I'm very excited to have this proclamation and have so many awesome young people in the chamber tonight to celebrate this and just want to give another shout out to the after the Denver Afterschool Alliance for all the awesome work they do. Making sure that we're not just doing afterschool programing, but that afterschool programing is high quality and providing everything that our kids need. So I would encourage all my colleagues to please. Help me support these young people in this proclamation tonight. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Councilman Clark. So you know the comments. I'll say this for actual. Actual. Both proclamations. Kids, young people. We love you. We're glad that you're in city council. Sorry. It's so boring, but. But one day you'll find this to be significant work. And I really actually just want to talk to the. The youth leaders, the folks who spend their time being with these young people. For eight years of my life, that's all I did. And it is such a rewarding experience. Now, looking back and seeing the young people who are now gainfully employed, taking care of their families and know that it was because of my investment into their lives. And so please keep loving on these young folks and thank you for what you do. Even when they talk back and get all crazy with you. Just. Just see them and who they're going to be in the future, because they're they're incredible. And I just want to echo Councilman Clark's sentiments. This is our future. Madam Secretary. Raquel. Clarke, I. Flynn. Hi, Gilmore. I. Herndon. I. Cashman. I can eat. Lopez I. Knew. Sussman Hi. Black Hi. Mr. President. I close the voting, announce the results. 11 Eyes. 11 Eyes Proclamation 989 has been adopted. Councilman Clark. Is there anybody you want to bring up? Yes. Thank you, Mr. President. I'd like to invite Christina Saccone, who represents the Denver After School Alliance, and Elvis de Barney, an eighth grader from the bridge project of this. Hi there. Thank you so much tonight for recognizing after school and also for funding after school and systems work through the Denver Afterschool Alliance, which is a program of the Office of Children's Affairs in the mayor's office. Really briefly, so that we can get straight to Elvis. The Denver Afterschool Alliance connects providers and the school district and city officials and the broader community to ensure quality. And together, our impact is greater. Last year, 50 sites worked on the A's quality program, impacting more than 15,000 students across the city. And in addition, we also have a program locator with 600 program so the parents can go online onto the city website and look for afterschool and summer programs for their kids. So I'm really interested in talking to you guys more about this, but don't want to steal the show from Elvis here. I'll be reaching out to each of you to chat a little bit more about after school in your district and across the city. And besides all this, though, I also would like to ask all the students to rise since they came today and just to celebrate them. We have between 30 and 40 kids from the Bridge Project YMCA and also Boys and Girls Club around the city. So just want to recognize them as well. And now this is Elvis Devaney. Yeah. For all units. The shirt. All right. Hi. My name is Oliver Devaney. I'm a part of the bridge project, and I've been going there since I was in the first grade. It has helped me in more ways than one academically. The bridge project has helped me with homework, guided me to the places I need in school. It also provides tutors for all their students, was provided by DU and volunteers to give kids the health the help they need, but the call to give kids the help they need. But let's not talk about academics. Not only does a bridge give me an academic chances, it also gives me friendships that could last a lifetime. Right now, I can name at least ten friends. I bridge that I know and they know me. But also I have relationships with the staff too. I have known for a long time I love my mom and she loved me as a kid. When I was in first grade, I came home from school and like any kid, I would not do homework or read just straight to the TV. But honestly I think overdid it because one day when I was watching Arthur, the next day while I was here, Bridget helped me with me and my mom. Over the years since you've been work from 6 to 6, my life is awesome and bridges are reason why. Thank you. Good job, Elvis. Well done. Nice name, too. Okay. All right. For our last proclamation of the evening. Councilman Cashman, will you please read 990?