Fighting for VA Afterschool and More Your April VPOST News!

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Subject: Fighting for VA Afterschool and More Your April VPOST News!

Governor Youngkin Cuts Afterschool in Virginia

Unfortunately, our victory of securing $5 million in the budget was short-lived. In an unprecedented move, Governor Youngkin made more than 200 amendments to the budget that included eliminating the $5 million the legislature allocated to out-of-school time (OST) programs. However, the budget negotiations are far from over, and it’s not too late to try and save this funding!

Like you did before, we need your help letting legislators know they must REJECT the Governor’s amendment to remove this funding from the budget. The General Assembly will reconvene on Wednesday, April 17th for “Veto Session.” Click the button below to take 30 seconds to show your support!

Act Now!

Paving the Way: Connecting OST Locally and Across the State, VPOST 15th Annual Conference

First Stop: Shenandoah Valley, May 30, 2024

This year VPOST is taking our annual conference on the road! Rather than hosting one state-wide event, we are leaning into our goal to strengthen and establish local OST networks, by hosting local mini-conferences! Our traveling conference, Paving the Way: Connecting Out-of-School Time Locally and Across Virginia was created to intentionally be more accessible to OST staff by bringing professional development to your backyards at a more affordable rate, while building strong local networks!

Join Us Today!

The first stop of our traveling conference will be just outside of Harrisonburg in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. On Thursday, May 30, 2024, join your colleagues at Blue Ridge Community College, Workforce Center for a day of learning, networking, and connection! Check out the other stops at the events page here or simply click the button below to register for the Shenandoah Valley now!

Lunch and Learn, April 29th

Internships: Connecting Business with Emerging Talent

Are you looking to host an intern or build an internship program? In this Lunch and Learn, The Virginia Talent + Opportunity Partnership (V-TOP) will share several FREE resources to help you learn best practices and methods of building an Internship program. Bonus! Small to mid-sized businesses may qualify for staffing agency services AND matching funds to offset intern wages! Your local V-TOP staff can connect you with the high schools, colleges, and universities in your region to find students for internships and other work-based learning opportunities.

VPOST is celebrating Afterschool Professionals Appreciation Week, April 22-26, to recognize, appreciate and advocate for those who work with young people during out-of-school hours.

Join us by sharing your shoutout of a colleague or afterschool professional in your life here and we will feature them in our communications!

Share your Shoutout!

Here are some other ideas on how you to show your appreciation:

o Use the hashtag #HeartOfAfterschool to declare the difference Afterschool professionals make in the lives of young people.

o Give a hand-written card from you and/or your child to the afterschool professionals you know.

o Send an email to an afterschool professional's supervisor describing why that person is appreciated.

o Make healthy or non-food treats for the staff at your afterschool program.

For more resources and information, check out www.heartofafterschool.com.

Free Training on Guiding Interns

Connect/Focus/Grow is a NEW collaboration between Virginia Talent + Opportunity Partnership (V-TOP) and Mentor Virginia. Mentor Virginia will facilitate mentorship training for employees/supervisors engaging in mentoring initiatives or interested in getting involved with mentoring programs supported by their organization. Students and interns interested in professional development opportunities may also participate in the mentorship training.

Virtual Training Dates, 1.5 hours

Wednesday April 17 10:00 am
Thursday April 18 10:00 am

Register here for virtual seminars. In-person trainings are also available. For more information, contact your regional V-TOP coordinator.

Engage Every Student Webinar

April 25th from 2:00-3:15

During this quarterly huddle, attendees will have an opportunity to learn about the U.S. Department of Education's Raise the Bar: Lead the World priorities and the connection to afterschool and summer learning programs. Join the Department and Engage Every Student partner organizations in a deep dive exploration of key priorities including Academic Acceleration, Student Mental Health and Multilingualism. Register here.

April 22-26 is Rev your Bev Week!

Rev Your Bev Week is on its way across Virginia! Register now to receive a week’s worth of hydration-happy lesson plans for younger children and activities for April 22-26. Visit https://www.revyourbev.com/ for more details on how you can bring the wonders of water to your classroom.

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Subject: Fighting for VA Afterschool and More Your April VPOST News!

Paving the Way: Connecting OST Locally and Across the State, VPOST 15th Annual Conference

Join Us Today!