ASAP/After School Activities Partnerships

ASAP/After School Activities Partnerships was created in 2002 at the request of City leaders to bring to public awareness the dangers of the afternoon hours for unsupervised youth in Philadelphia. Since its inception ASAP has served more than 65,000 kids by recruiting volunteers, teachers and organizations to lead enrichment clubs across the city, with an emphasis on areas with high rates of poverty, crime, and truancy.

ASAPs mission is to develop high quality after school activities and resources to empower youth and strengthen communities in Philadelphia. ASAPs program model is designed to use the time after school to coordinate fun, structured activities that complement classroom academics and help students develop their full potential. Each year, ASAP serves approximately 5,000 youth (K-12) by coordinating more than 350 after school clubs in schools, libraries, community and recreation centers throughout Philadelphia. Through the following citywide initiatives, ASAP continues to expand the traditional scope of after school activities to cultivate communities of diverse youth for whom extra-curricular passions are the gateway to success in the classroom and beyond: Chess: With 200 clubs meeting weekly and competing monthly, ASAPs chess program develops the problem-solving and strategic-thinking skills of more than 2,500 youth. Debate: Through ASAPs debate program, over 400 youth in 50 middle and high school clubs explore important issues while building critical reading and public speaking skills. Scrabble: Through weekly play and citywide events, ASAP Scrabble teaches the essential building blocks of literacy and mathematics to more than 1,000 students active in 93 clubs. Drama: For more than 300 youth in 30 clubs, ASAP Drama nurtures young peoples powers of expression, team work skills and cultural knowledge through participating in group performances and attending professional productions. Directory of After Schools Programs: Featuring thousands of after school activities in 1000+ sites across the city, ASAP's Directory is published annually in the Philadelphia Daily News, maintained as a search engine on ASAP's website, and is featured on the Citys Philly311 mobile application.