Free after-school program for New York City students nurtures skills and talents
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Free afterschool programs for New York City students are offering activities like sports, arts, college prep and more at no cost to parents.
Mia Diaz, 11, is a confident burst of sass, beaming from the stage for everyone to see as she plays Scar in "The Lion King" at an after-school program play in Queens.
The soon-to-be sixth grader from Corona loves reading and writing, but she realized last year that she also loves theater.
"You can act out a different point of view and you show different emotions," Diaz said.
"It was so amazing to watch her on that stage. She was thriving," her mom Thalia Solares said. "It definitely made her so much more independent. I saw her become more confident."
And for being able to find her inner courage and put it on full display, Solares credits New York Edge -- the city's largest after-school provider.
It serves over 35,000 students, kindergarten through eighth grade, for free.
Solares is a mother of four and a dental assistant. She has no ability to work remotely and no help with childcare at home.
"I would probably have to stay home because I wouldn't have the option for childcare for somebody to pick up my children from school, so it would be very hard," Solares said.
"It's critical," New York Edge CEO Rachael Gazdick said. "There's no parent that gets out of work at 3 p.m."
Gazdick said it's about so much more than childcare for working parents.
The program is funded largely by the city and is available to students through 81 public schools in five boroughs.
Its goal is to tap into each child's gifts and talents and nurture it, so they can blossom.
"Where a child may need extra support after the school day ends or they might need an extra spark -- can they be the next dancer? Can they be the next scientists?" Gazdick said.
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