Posted November 8, 2017
Local Elected Officials and Community Leaders Join Row New York in Celebrating Lights On Afterschool
On Thursday, October 26 Row New York joined 8,000 afterschool sites across the nation to celebrate the Afterschool Alliance’s Lights On Afterschool initiative at the Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse.
Row New York’s Executive Director Amanda Kraus, student-athletes, coaches, and staff had the privilege of welcoming New York State Senator Marisol Alcantara, Assemblywoman Carmen De La Rosa, Allison James, Director of Education and Environmental Policy for the office of New York City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, and Ebenezer Smith, District Manager for Manhattan’s Community Board 12 to present a proclamation from Governor Andrew Cuomo and participate in our first-ever boathouse lighting ceremony.
After the brief ceremony, community leaders spent time with student-athletes and staff, discussing Row New York’s program model and the importance of high-quality afterschool programs. Youth leaders, Emily Cintron and Christian Garcia, also led a tour of the boathouse, where Row New York’s culture and values were on full display.
Assemblywoman De La Rosa saw the importance of Row New York’s afterschool athletic and academic programming, observing that, “They learn the importance of fitness, are required to work as a team to ensure safety and accountability prior to rowing, and most importantly are provided with rigorous academic support.” And Senator Alcantara, a rower during her time at Manhattan College, remarked that she was looking forward to going out on the water with some of our student-athletes in the near future.
We were honored to host local civic leaders and elected representatives at the Peter Jay Sharp Boathouse to call attention to vital afterschool programming in communities across the country. And it was enormously beneficial to Row New York’s student-athletes to meet local leaders and trailblazing representatives in government as they think about their futures after high school and college—thank you Senator Alcantara and Assemblywoman De La Rosa for visiting Row New York and helping us keep the lights on after school!
More photos from the Lights On Afterschool event can be found on Row New York’s Facebook page here.
