After School Matters

MURAL REVEAL! 😍 This summer, teens in the Related Affordable South Shore community designed a mural for their community center, guided by professional artist and ASM instructor Erick Roho Garcia. 🎨 The mural features a bright blue background with purple line drawings of people engaged in creative activities, surrounded by colorful leaves, and the inspiring phrase “Love & Unity in the Community.” 💖✨ Huge thanks to our amazing partners, Related Companies Affordable Foundation and Related Midwest, for supporting arts and education! 🙌 Together, we're creating countless opportunities for teens to beautify Chicago neighborhoods. Read the full blog post: https://lnkd.in/gBM_Rskx 🌟 #teensMATTER

We had a great groundbreaking event on Saturday, kicking off the renovations of our new building at 1065 Orleans in the Cabrini neighborhood! We were joined by IL Senate President Harmon, Mayor Johnson, Alderman walter burnett, ASM Board member Langdon Neal, and many community members excited to add ASM to the neighborhood! Check out the feature on ABC 7: https://lnkd.in/gaixy3cb #teensMATTER

It’s on! 🎉 We're excited to celebrate the 25th annual #LightsOnAfterschool with Afterschool Alliance! After-school and summer programs keep teens safe, inspire learning, and support working families. Today, thousands of programs nationwide are showcasing how they’re keeping the lights on for our young people! A huge thank you to our incredible ASM instructors and staff who empower Chicago teens every day! 💪 A special shoutout to our ASM Champions—State Senator Omar Aquino, Ald. Jessie Fuentes, and Ald. Nicole Lee—for visiting and supporting our programs this year! 🌟 #teensMATTER

Welcome to a Tuesday night at the Nu Sounds Studio Advanced Production @ Gately program led by instructor Hondo Lawrence. In this dynamic space, teens dive into music production and beat-making, exploring various genres and styles. Teens unleash their creativity and showcase a range of works from hip-hop and R&B to jazz fusion and beyond. 🎤🙌#teensMATTER

🏃♀️✨ This year, 40 dedicated runners joined TEAM ASM and raised over $73,000 (and counting!) for Chicago teens! Celebrate our incredible runners who tackled the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and check out our full blog post: https://lnkd.in/gAzufRPE 💜 Congratulations to ALL! #ChicagoMarathon #teensMATTER

🎉 Congratulations to our incredible TEAM After School Matters runners for completing this year’s Bank of America Chicago Marathon! 🏅 Your dedication and hard work carried you across the finish line and raised amazing support for Chicago teens. Here’s to making a difference—one mile at a time! 🏃♂️❤️ #teensMATTER

It's #WorldMentalHealthDay, and our teens and parents are facing rising levels of anxiety, depression, and mental health challenges. But here’s an important reminder: It’s okay to not be okay. You don’t have to go through it alone. ❤️ Whether you’re talking to a friend, family member, mentor, or therapist, reaching out takes courage, and it’s a powerful first step. If you're part of our ASM community—whether a current teen in one of our programs or an instructor—you have access to free mental health services through our amazing partners at Adler University. Don’t hesitate to ask for help. Speak with your instructor or an ASM staff member to connect with an Adler clinician. We’re here for you. 🫶 ✨ Swipe for mental health tips to help teens and parents - and check out our latest blog post: https://lnkd.in/gwr-EvJz ✨ #teensMATTER #YouAreNotAlone #MentalHealthMatters

🍔 Our teens from the Gallery 37 Leadership Council, along with instructor Paola Montesino, had a “bun”-believable day at McDonald's corporate office! They kicked things off with a behind-the-scenes tour and then rolled up their sleeves for a fun “Make Your Own Cheeseburger” class led by a head chef in the test kitchen. 🔥 Teens attended an inspiring lecture on scholarship opportunities and explored the company archives, chatting with a historian about McDonald's rich history. To top it all off, teens wrote heartfelt thank you cards to McDonald's workers around the globe, showing appreciation for their hard work. 🌍❤️ HUGE thank you to McDonald's for inspiring our future leaders! #teensMATTER

🌟 Luis Crespo, ASM Program Specialist, shares what #HispanicHeritageMonth means to him as a proud Puerto Rican! 🎶✨ 💖 Explore our Hispanic Heritage Month blog to hear from even more incredible ASM voices: https://lnkd.in/gsD2Wx5D #teensMATTER

🎬✨ Exciting night at the La Máquina premiere, a new series coming to Hulu on October 9! Teens from ASM's Ring Leaders and Megasaur Media programs, along with their amazing instructors Alina Hernandez, Josh Romero, and Amanda Saucedo, attended an exciting event for a sneak peek of the new series. They enjoyed popcorn and refreshments while hanging out with friends! A huge thank you to Hulu and everyone who made this night possible for our ASM teens, inspiring the next generation of boxers and creators. When teens can see it, they can be it! This is what community and opportunity look like! 💫 #teensMATTER #LaMaquina #Hulu #PremiereNight #HispanicHeritageMonth