After-School All-Stars Announces The “UN-Gala” to Celebrate 20 Years of Service in Southern Nevada Oct. 3
Local non-profit, After School All Stars (ASAS), is going back to its roots on October 3 by hosting an “UN-Gala”— a day filled with sports and fun activities for ASAS children, dubbed the 20th Anniversary All-Star Games (Pictured: After-School All-Stars visit Studio at the Palms).
This year marks the 20th anniversary for After-School All-Stars Las Vegas which has provided after-school activities for more than 120,000 Southern Nevada children, over two decades. Rather than a traditional gala, ASAS will commemorate the anniversary with an UN-Gala. No dresses, no black ties, in fact no ties at all except in the laces of the shoes of the over 700 Clark County After-School All-Stars students invited to have fun playing sports in an event reminiscent of the very first Greater Las Vegas Inner-City Games, created by Elaine Wynn in 1995.
As founder, Mrs. Wynn has been a constant for the life of ASAS. She will be honored October 3 at a pre-event breakfast and will help to recognize the contributions of several other After-School All-Stars founding supporters, including John Pucci, Kathy Harney, Jim Jimmerson and Susie Lee.
Following the breakfast, more than 700 After-School All-Stars students from 13 Clark County elementary and middle schools will march in an Olympic-style opening ceremony and light a torch to signal the start of a day filled with activities and rides, including go-karts, batting cages, rock climbing, velcro wall, trackless train, dance, basketball and football.
“Since our inception 20 years ago, we have been committed to keeping Clark County students safe as we help them to achieve in school and in life,” said Ranna Daud, executive director of After-School All-Stars. “Bringing back the original spirit of the all-star games with an event focused on the deserving students themselves is the perfect way to honor our founder, Elaine Wynn, and celebrate the strides our organization has made as we have grown over two decades to now include programs in 13 different schools serving more than 6,000 students each year.”
Nationwide, 11.3 million children are alone and unsupervised after school. In Nevada, the number stands at nearly 100,000. After-School All-Stars provides a safe place for children to be after school with programs to help students to be successful in school and in life. When surveyed, 97% of Clark County School District teachers at schools with ASAS programs reported that students learned new skills in the ASAS program, 91% reported that ASAS students had a positive attitude about school, and 92% of teachers responded that ASAS students were more confident. Among ASAS students, 91% reported trying harder in Math and English because they participated in the ASAS program and 87% felt more confident in their ability to get a good job. When ASAS works with students for several years over the course of their elementary and middle schools years, there is a higher likelihood they will graduate and succeed.
The 20th Anniversary All-Stars Games will be held on Saturday, October 3 at the Sport Center located at 121 E. Sunset Road. After-School All-Stars UN-Gala sponsorships are available to support the more than 700 students who will attend the event, but more importantly, to support comprehensive after-school programs for thousands of children in Clark County Schools all year long. “Every dollar moves our children off wait lists and gets them moving, learning—succeeding,” adds Daud.
After-School All-Stars Las Vegas provides opportunities for underprivileged youth to participate in free after-school and summer programs that focus on academics, athletics and cultural enrichment. Local programs include tutoring, homework help, language and literacy skills, arts and crafts, dance, music, computers, chess, creative writing, soccer, swimming, cooking and media – just to name a few. Since its inception, After-School All-Stars has positively affected the lives of more than 100,000 Southern Nevada youth. Today, there are more than 6,000 youth from 13 different schools participating in the program. For more information, visit www.asaslv.org or call (702)-770-7601.