CFL students and staff rally to save after-school programs

Staff and families from SCO’s Center for Family Life in Sunset Park joined a crowd of community members who rallied at Brooklyn Borough Hall on April 23rd, calling on Mayor Bill de Blasio to fund 17 after-school programs in high-need neighborhoods that would be forced to close this summer unless the mayor allocates additional funding.   Center for Family Life programs based at PS94 and PS169 in Sunset Park, are among the six Brooklyn programs in jeopardy.

The rally, which was organized by  Campaign for Children, drew an enthusiastic crowd of supporters including students, parents and staff from the six at-risk Brooklyn programs, along with Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, City Council Youth Services Chair Mathieu Eugene and Sunset Park Council Member Carlos Menchaca.

 PS94 Program Director Rebecca Giordano and two young SCO/CFL after-school program participants joined BP Adams, CM Eugene and CM Menchaca at the lectern to address the crowd, discussing the critically important role that after-school programs play in high-need areas like Sunset Park. 

“They’re incredibly vital for a variety of reasons,” SCO/CFL PS169 Program Director Shira Sameroff told News 12 Brooklyn. “One is that they provide free childcare for parents so they can work, but it also gives children an experience that they wouldn’t have otherwise.”