We're A Month Away From the 27th celebration of Lights On Afterschool!

Not sure where to begin your planning process? We’ve gathered our top tips to help you plan a Lights On Afterschool celebration that fits your program’s bandwidth and budget. This week’s planning tips include:

– Check out our planning timeline: A step-by-step guide walking you through planning your event, from ideation to execution.

– Browse the Event Ideas Database, recently updated with 200 new ideas, for more inspiration, searchable by theme, planning time, and difficulty. 

– Order a Lights On easy pack or other promotional items, including strobe buttons, sunglasses, and car decals. They make great prizes or giveaways at any event!

 

Need a spark? Whether it’s your first year celebrating and you’re not sure where to start, or it’s your 27th and you’re looking for a fresh idea, Lights On Afterschool events don’t need to be big in scale or cost to have a big impact. Here are some creative ways afterschool programs celebrated last year:

💡In Denver, CO, students built a pretend “energy company” to show what happens when funding runs out—the lights go out.

💡 In Holiday, FL, a glow-in-the-dark party doubled as an art gallery celebrating student resilience.

💡 In Hatton, ND, families ran a nighttime glow run while neighbors lit their porches along the route.