Lights on After School Rally for Children Planned for Thursday

The Manassas Park Parks and Recreation Department will sponsor a Lights On After School rally Thursday from 5:30‐8:00 p.m. at the Manassas Park Community Center at 99 Adams St.  

The rally will be one of more than 7,500 such events around the nation held Thursday and organized by the Afterschool Alliance in celebration of the afterschool programs that keep children safe, inspire them to learn and help working families. 

Thursday's event is hosted by the city's parks and recreations department, Manassas Park City Schools and Prince William County Community Services.

This event is open to all residents of Manassas Park and is free to attend. Topics highlighted will be Internet safety, high school and middle school afterschool programs.

Manassas Park Parks and Recs managers Jennifer Deuterman and Tony Thomas addressed city council Tuesday and spoke about Thursday's topics, including the Teen Passport program. 

The program is simlar to a regular membership, but is exclusively for children ages 12 to 17, Thomas said. 

"They have chance to earn points for volunteerism, community service and good grades; for every point they get, there's a deduction in the next month's fee," Thomas told council. "... What we are trying to do is a promote a sense of pride and community service in our young people."