About ASAS South Florida

Founded by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver in 1992, After-School All-Stars is one of the largest national organizations providing free, comprehensive afterschool programming for under-resourced students at Title 1 schools. In 2022, our programs were provided by 19 chapters, in 78 cities, at a total of 725 sites who served 118,068 students living in high-poverty communities. 91% of ASAS students are youth of color and 90% qualify for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program.

As one of After-School All-Stars chapters, the South Florida After-School All-Stars (SFASAS) was established in 1994 and in August 2015, SFASAS began a partnership with FIU’s College of Arts, Sciences & Education to improve college readiness and bridge the college success pipeline, serving 5.029 students in school year 2022-2023; at 46 sites; 88% who qualified for free and reduced lunch; with 98% being children of color.

With 96% of funds allocated directly to programming and a mere 4% administrative overhead, SFASAS continues to strive to improve the quality, sustainability and cultural relevance of our youth-serving programs and services. Our rich history evolves from the passion of its founder and former Chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Funding for our programs and services reflect 67% from government grants, 16% other, 7% in-kind, 9% foundations, and 1% events.

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Organizational Structure

Mission: Our mission is to provide comprehensive afterschool programs that keep children safe and help them succeed in school and life. Through this mission, it is our vision for our All-Stars to be safe and healthy, graduate high school, go to college, find careers they love and then give back to their communities.

Structure: After-School All-Stars is one of the country's largest nonprofit organizations working to close the opportunity gap for low-income youth. Comprised of 19 chapters, All-Stars' programs are currently operating at 725 school-year sites and summer camps in 78 cities across the country, providing year-round free, comprehensive programs and support services for students and their families. In 2022, our parent organization served 118,068 students living in high-poverty communities. 91% of ASAS students are youth of color and 90% qualify for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program.

The South Florida Chapter (SFASAS) for which this application is being made has provided critical support and services to low-income youth since 1995, bridging the opportunity gap and providing students and families a wide range of enrichment activities. Last year, SFASAS served 5,029 students and of those, 97% were of color at 46 sites with 88% qualifying for free or reduced lunch programs. Current Strategy: Mental health support and interpersonal skill development are embedded in our academic and enrichment curricula. Our holistic approach includes community and family engagement efforts that ensure continued assistance for our All-Stars when they leave school settings.

We are driven by youth voice and choice, and we tailor our programs to students' interest in the following areas: health & wellness, STEAM learning, visual & performing arts, career exploration, and academic readiness. Each of these strategies support our over-arching mission of keeping children safe and helping them succeed in school and life in the following ways:

Health and Wellness: Encourages healthy behaviors like daily exercise, balanced nutrition, and interpersonal skills offering experiences in athletics, fresh food preparation, and mindfulness as exemplified by life skills, nutrition, gardening, and cooking; sports, dance, and yoga.

STEM Learning: Project-based learning experiences in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) help students develop valuable life skills including collaboration, communication, problem solving, and creativity as exemplified by coding and robotics; virtual reality; forensics, and 3D printing.

Visual and Performing Arts: Visual and performing arts programs build confidence, encourage self-expression, and develop technical and leadership skills. Arts programs include many courses that are no longer offered during the school day. Program examples are dance; photography, music and production; fashion and design to include sewing and cosmetology; and stage production.

Career Exploration: Career exploration programs introduce students to career pathways and industry mentors. Students develop strategies for exploring career and education goals while building skillsets for the modern work environment. Program examples include workplace visits; virtual reality training; career-focused discussion; guest speakers; mentorship from working professionals; internships and job placements as well as opportunities for dual-enrollment while in high-school for college credits.

Academic Readiness: Academic readiness programs provide our students with the support and homework help they need to build healthy habits that lead to positive academic outcomes. Program examples include homework assistance, college visits, financial literacy; critical thinking, and curriculum that teaches one the ability to gather, analyze, synthesize, and present information; keeping pace with reading and review, which are all needed to use in effective study strategies.

30 Years, 30 Stories

How We Help

Just a short 30 miles to the south of Miami is Homestead, an agricultural community with miles of lush farmland and raw wilderness that stretch as far as the eye can see. As Miami-Dade County’s second-oldest city it’s laden with lightless rough roads that turn pitch black after sunset–a challenge for any school bus to travel on. It’s a stark contrast to the manicured landscapes, high-rise condos, and bright lights of Miami Beach.

Palm trees, fruit, spices, and other exotic plants grow in the mild, warm climate, and landscapers come to purchase the palms that will decorate the beautiful hotels that line the Beach where snowbirds flock to every winter, fueling the robust hospitality economy. But for the migrant workers and their kids living in Homestead, there’s no vacation wonderland to where they can escape.

We serve schools in Homestead and the unincorporated areas around it, where the students are the children of migrant agricultural workers, many of whom are undocumented. Like most of Miami, Spanish is the unofficial “official” language. Most students speak English and help translate for their parents.

Along with these language barriers, it’s somewhat challenging to recruit students to the after-school program. Often, parents are afraid to have any written records that could be used against them if they were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Schools are safe havens, and ICE can’t legally detain students coming to or from school. That sense of security changed recently when a parent at an ASAS site in Homestead was picked up by ICE. It was a reminder of the fragility of these families’ situation.

Despite the hesitation to enroll their children, the lure of free transportation, homework help, and meals the program offers often wins parents over. Most parents take the bus to pick up their students, and most have already endured a grueling 3-hour round-trip commute to jobs in northern Miami-Dade, so not having to pick up their student makes life a bit easier.

Our focus is to keep students safe during the hours of after-school. Our hope is that students gain valuable skills and go on to create their own brighter futures.

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