What makes All-Stars different?
As part of a national organization, All-Stars is focused entirely on after school programming, therefore we can provide greater expertise, higher quality staff and increased resources directly to the program. After-School All-Stars will tailor programming to meet the needs and desires of the school and the students. Additionally, All-Stars has visibility in the community and relationships with a variety of national and local leaders. And through additional grants and donations, All-Stars brings resources that will help provide further opportunities for the youth.
All-Stars’ after school programming is not merely an extension of the school day. It's a place that emphasizes meaningful activity-based learning that reinforces the knowledge and skills needed for in-school success, and prepares them for the 21st Century. Our youth development focus promotes positive relationships among youth and adults, creates engaging environments for youth to learn life skills, and provides opportunities to practice problem solving, project management and team work.
Please visit our National Foundation’s website at www.afterschoolallstars.org
All-Stars Academics
Working closely with the school staff, All-Stars provides programming that aligns with the school day and meets the academic needs of the students. Every school day All-Stars sets aside time for youth to work on their homework and special school projects. Individual and group tutoring is also provided when it is identified as a need of the student. The goal is to help kids to build good study skills that will serve them well in high school and college. All-Stars program leaders oversee the academic component in partnership with teachers and school staff to ensure that educational standards are met.
All-Stars Enrichment
Enrichment activities are designed to engage youth in challenging activities that prepare them for the 21st Century while allowing them to experience creative expression, communication and cooperation. Learning is supported through these projects and activities, while building social and emotional skills.
Service learning opportunities are offered to provide valuable life lessons. As a key component of All-Stars, service learning helps kids build a connection with their community, feel a sense of accomplishment and competence, and gain a new awareness of the world around them.
All-Stars Health & Fitness
All-Stars believes that in order for middle school age youth to remain physically active, they must be offered activities that interest them. That’s why All-Stars provides a wide variety of creative choices for the youth including dance, competitive and non-competitive sports, hiking, and more. Intertwined into each activity is an emphasis on making positive choices, good nutrition, and living a healthy lifestyle.
Activities provided in addition to the comprehensive program include:
All-Stars Entourage
Entourage is a youth leadership and service learning program that allows youth to discover their own talents and gifts while giving back to the community. Facilitated by trained adults, youth experience leadership opportunities, learn decision-making skills, practice personal discipline and peer group interaction, all based in a foundation of service learning. Entourage participants give selflessly back to their community and school through projects that they design and deliver.
All-Stars Sports Clubs
All-Stars’ Sports Clubs on campuses after school promote physical activity and combat childhood obesity. Both competitive and non-competitive sports and fitness are taught based in a foundation of discipline, drills and teamwork. When appropriate, leagues are formed so that youth have the opportunity to play with other schools. All youth are encouraged and given opportunities to participate, regardless of skill level. At All-Stars, everyone is a winner!
All-Stars Futures
Exposing youth to educational and career opportunities, All-Stars Futures provides them information to make educated choices about their futures. In partnership with businesses, trade schools, and universities, All-Stars exposes youth to the variety of career and life choices, providing them with options that give them hope for a successful future.
Career Exploration Days-Southwest Middle School
Career Exploration Day connects our student’s dreams with a very real experience. By seeing what it looks like in the outside world, they are taking the first step in creating a personal vision for their success. Students in our programs are given opportunities to get out of their neighborhoods and out of their every day norm. Our students' dream of being doctors, rocket scientists, video-game designers, fashion designer, engineers, etc. While their dreams may change, it is important that every kid meets people who are successful in their chosen profession. Students learn about career options and the connections between their passions and skills to potential college majors and careers. After-School All-Stars helps students identify and attain career goals through site visits, job shadowing, interviews and exploration of jobs related to various enrichment classes that are offered at their program sites. Every student has an opportunity to visit a company and meet professionals in the field of their interest. Before they go on a career exploration visit, students review the CEO or the company representative, research the company and history, as well as brainstorm questions to ask their employees.
Vibra Bank
Ralph Lauren Polo
Coca Cola Refreshments
Community Service Learning
After-School All-Stars students from Southwest Middle School partnered up with the San Diego Audubon Society (SDAS) on Saturday, October 2nd from 9am -12pm to help foster the protection of birds, other wildlife, and their habitats. SDAS focuses on local conservation and education programs. The students helped restore sensitive coastal habitat in the San Diego Bay, a global Important Bird Area. ASAS restored this site for our feathered friends by removing invasive plants and debris at Emory Cove to prepare for a native planting effort that will take place in the spring.
Estimated nearly 10,000 volunteers teamed up at more than 85 cleanup sites throughout San Diego County. Together, we collected more than more than 100,000 pounds of debris, and statewide, nearly 75,000 people collected over 1 million pounds of trash from our coastal and inland waterways. The students are playing such a critical role in the health of our communities and look forward to seeing San Diegans embody the valuable lessons about waste reduction and conservation everyday of the year.
Helping Refugees
The International Rescue Committee provides opportunities for refugees to thrive in America. Each year, thousands of refugees are invited by the U.S. government to seek safety and freedom. Forced to flee conflict or persecution, many have survived for years against incredible odds. They step off the plane with next to nothing but their dignity, hope and determination. In San Diego, the IRC helps them rebuild their lives. The New Roots Community Farm, a project of the International Rescue Committee in San Diego, was started to provide refugee clients with land to farm their own food, as a way to improve their food security. Our Southwest Middle School After School All-Star students learned about this exciting project for the IRC's refugee clients and other community members.
After-School All-Stars Commercial Shoot
Every Year, Shuan Phillips and the Chargers host an annual Dodgeball Fundraiser, which supports our organization. This year, the fundraiser will take place at The Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego, on November 15th. To create an awareness of the event, the After School All-Star students of Southwest Middle School and San Diego Chargers, featuring Phillips, Carson, and Cooper will be creating a commercial. The shoots will be taking place at Southwest Middle School and the Hard Rock Hotel. We held auditions on Oct 1st, and the students had a wonderful time. Shoots will be taking place on Oct. 12th and 16th. For most students, it was the first time to have an experience like this.
Hard Rock Hotel Commercial Shoot
Students who were chosen from the audition process were being filmed on the rooftop of Hard Rock Hotel in downtown San Diego (10-12-10). They were filming with Shaun Phillips and Stephen Cooper.
All-Star Kids Give Back
Check out what our students have been up to over the last few months of school.Urban Gardening
The problem of childhood obesity in the United States has grown considerably in recent years. The participants of After-School All-Stars Greater San Diego, finds this epidemic relevant to the community and the children we serve. Like other impoverished towns all over this country, there isn't a lot of access to high quality fruits and vegetables. There are also a disproportionate number of fast food places, which doesn't serve healthy food, but offers food that is much cheaper. Students in our after-school programs are creating an awareness of the community needs and are collaborating with two local community gardens. They are growing an abundant number of fruits and vegetables that are given to families that are in need while providing education on nutrition to kids. The gardens are giving students access to fresh foods, introducing them to nature, and helping them live a healthier lifestyle.
Compassion for Haiti
Students at Montgomery Middle School, in San Diego, CA want to lead their school in an effort to respond to one of the gravest humanitarian crises in the Western Hemisphere. There are no greater leaders in our communities than students. The students want their voices to be heard and they want to create an awareness of what they are doing to help, not just in their communities, but in other nations. By helping others, the students learned the responsibilities that come with being a role model. Not only are they raising money or creating awareness, the students are learning about Haiti, about the country, history and the people. The projects started the first week of the devastation and will continue until the end of the school year. Our Service Learning Club (Entourage) is leading the charge and is getting their fellow classmates, teachers, parents and administrators involved, and they have raised over $2000 thus far.
Bridging the Generation Gap
Today we stand on the brink of a national epidemic unlike anything we have experienced before. As the largest number of Americans ever reaches retirement age, Alzheimer’s and other similar progressive and fatal diseases threaten life as we know it. Students are reaching out and helping the elders in their communities. There are over 90,000 families right here in San Diego coping with these diseases every day. The students have made monthly commitments of companionships and friendships to isolated seniors in the long term facilities. The volunteers have been offering arts & crafts and other stimulating activities for the elders. We are here to lend a hand with special people in a special place.
Restoring the Wildlife Habitat
The students have been volunteering for the San Diego Audubon Society, who helps us foster the protection of birds, other wildlife, and their habitats. They offer local conservation and education programs, and invites volunteers to help restore a special nesting site for endangered California Least Terns on Saturday, April 10th, from 8:45am to 1pm. We’ll be working at FAA Island, a small island just west of Fiesta Island that is used for air traffic control purposes and is usually closed to the public. Unfortunately, this site is full of vegetation and invasive plants and so cannot be used by the terns for nesting and rearing their young. We’ll be working to clear this vegetation and to prepare the site for the arrival of the terns in late April You’re invited to help the San Diego Flyway Cities Coalition transform over an acre of turf into a community habitat garden for wildlife and people! The San Diego Audubon Society, City of Chula Vista, Eastlake III Association, Garden Retreat Designs, and Recon Native Plants are joining together to establish a demonstration habitat by planting native shrubs and trees to help promote sustainable, nature-friendly landscaping. Events will be held on April 17, May 1, and May 15 to ensure that we successfully complete this project during planting season.
Come an hour earlier to attend a FREE NatureScape workshop that will teach you how to compost, save water, and certify your property as an official Backyard Habitat. The workshop will be held at Eastlake’s Clubhouse at the Woods from 9 – 10am, before the volunteer work event.
Helping Refugees
The International Rescue Committee provides opportunities for refugees to thrive in America. Each year, thousands of refugees are invited by the U.S. government to seek safety and freedom. Forced to flee conflict or persecution, many have survived for years against incredible odds. They step off the plane with next to nothing but their dignity, hope and determination. In San Diego, the IRC helps them rebuild their lives. The New Roots Community Farm, a project of the International Rescue Committee in San Diego, was started to provide our refugee clients with land to farm their own food, as a way to improve their food security. This is a great way to learn about this exciting project for the IRC's refugee clients and other community members. The students will be learning about the history, the people, and the cultures of so many different countries. People are coming from all parts of the world, from Somalia, Burma, Vietnam, Kenya, and so on.
After-School All-Stars’ mission is to provide comprehensive out-of -school programs that keep children safe and help them achieve in school and life.