Saturday, November 16, 2002
The new campaign uses humor to say the programs are in peril.
WASHINGTON -- A woman with a baby carriage snatches a soccer ball from a group of children.
A man uses a fire extinguisher to douse a model volcano as it begins to erupt.
Another woman crushes the pingpong ball that children were playing with.
While most adults wouldn't intentionally sabotage an after-school program, taking no action to support these programs can have the same effect, according to vignettes featured in new television public service announcements that will begin airing across the country this month.
The PSAs are part of a television, radio, print and Internet campaign aimed at encouraging Americans to support after-school programs. The campaign, a joint effort of the Afterschool Alliance and the Advertising Council, was launched in November 2000 with a series of PSAs that focused on the benefits of after-school programs. This second phase of the campaign is designed to encourage viewers, listeners and readers to take action to support after-school programs.
The new PSAs all feature a website address, www.afterschoolnow.org, and a toll-free number, (866) KIDS-TODAY, where adults can get information on how to support after-school programs.
The campaign was funded by four grants, totaling $3 million, from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.
"An estimated 15 million children have no supervised activity each afternoon after the final school bell rings, and budget crises across the country mean that even more children may lack after-school programs in the months and years ahead," said Judy Y. Samuelson, executive director of the nonprofit Afterschool Alliance.
"After-school programs keep kids safe and healthy, help working parents and improve academic achievement. We need more programs, and that will only happen if adults speak out and actively support after-school programs."
The new PSAs were created by volunteer advertising agency DDB Chicago, and all the spots use humor to communicate that, "If you're not helping to support after-school programs, you're really helping to take them away." The PSAs are available in English and Spanish.
"This new phase of the campaign communicates the important message that, without public support, after-school programs will disappear," said Peggy Conlon, president & amp; CEO of the non-profit Advertising Council.
The campaign received more than $79 million in donated media during 2001, making it the third most supported Ad Council campaign that year, she added.
Public support
Research shows public support for after-school programs, according to a poll released by the Afterschool Alliance last month. Researchers found:
Nine in 10 voters agree that there should be some type of organized activity or place for children to go after school every day that provides opportunities for them to learn.
Seven in 10 voters agree that "after-school programs are an absolute necessity for their communities."
Nearly two-thirds of voters (63 percent) are concerned that after-school programs may have to reduce services or close because no new funds are available.
"People support after-school programs and are worried about the future of programs, but many do not know what they can do to help," Samuelson said. "This campaign gives them specific actions they can take to support after-school programs and help kids."