SNBC’s Lights On Afterschool Celebration Lit Up the Sunset!
At the Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center’s (SNBC’s) Lights On Afterschool Celebration on Thursday, October 21, 2010, keynote speaker Congresswoman Jackie Speier praised SNBC before a crowd of 250 guests with the following proclamation:
Your program to provide children with the education and skills they need for the future is both innovative and incredible. You have set the standard for creativity and caring within our community. Keep up the great work!
Lights On Afterschool is a nationwide event highlighting the importance of afterschool programs for America’s youth and families. SNBC’s celebration was one of more than 7,500 Lights On Afterschool events held across the country. But SNBC’s event stood out as one of the most fun!
Keynote speaker Congresswoman Jackie Speier
SNBC’s Lights On Afterschool event at A.P. Giannini Middle School in San Francisco featured youth performances and hands-on exhibits of SNBC’s innovative and educational afterschool programs. Students from Ulloa Elementary School read poetry and performed a hip-hop dance, while the West Sunset Rec Connect Steel Pan Drummers entertained the crowd with songs. Additionally, A.P. Giannini’s Urban Music Program spun tunes, R.L. Stevenson Elementary’s Cooking Club made sushi, Francis Scott Key Elementary’s Gardening Club showed off their green thumbs, and Sunset Elementary displayed Mexican folk art. In between visiting exhibits and watching performances, guests enjoyed refreshments and participated in an exciting raffle.
Special guests of the evening included Yashica Crawford, the manager of San Francisco’s ExCEL After School Programs, Captain John Sanford of the San Francisco Police Department’s Taraval Station, Vernon Brown, the CEO of Aspiranet (SNBC’s lead agency), Principal Sophie Lee of Sunset Elementary School, Principal David Wong of Francis Scott Key Elementary School, Principal Carol Wong of Ulloa Elementary School, Principal Kanani Choy of Robert Lewis Stevenson Elementary School, and Principal Leslie Trook of A.P. Giannini Middle School. Also in attendance was Arno Harris, the CEO of Recurrent Energy, which generously sponsored SNBC’s Lights On Afterschool Celebration. SNBC was also pleased to welcome Supervisor Carmen Chu, a longtime supporter of SNBC’s afterschool programs.
SNBC Founder and Director Michael Funk welcomed the event’s keynote speaker, Congresswoman Jackie Speier. Congresswoman Speier recognized SNBC’s tremendous community impact and commended SNBC as a finalist for the prestigious MetLife Foundation Afterschool Innovator Award; SNBC was selected as one of 18 finalists (and only one of six in its category) out of over 300 applicants!
Photos from this amazing event can be found here.
