Muskegon & Muskegon Heights Lights On Afterschool

Pathfinders’ Lights On Afterschool runs September–June and provides a safe, trauma-sensitive space where Muskegon County youth—especially those in ALICE and low-income households—receive one-on-one mentoring, tutoring, and engaging enrichment. The daily schedule blends literacy, STEM, and arts with interactive workshops like the Diatribe poetry series, creative expression labs, and wellness activities. Staff build consistent relationships, track attendance and participation, and use youth and family surveys (along with external OST evaluation) to tailor supports. Licensed capacity at the new site is 50 at a time, enabling small-group attention and individualized growth plans.

Lights On is intentionally family-centered. Through the “I Am the Village” initiative and regular family nights, Pathfinders invites caregivers into the learning process, connects them to partners such as Access Health and Hackley Community Care, and reduces barriers with resource navigation. In 2024, Pathfinders served 70+ youth, engaged 36 in intensive poetry/literacy workshops, welcomed 49 families to events, and cultivated youth leadership by recruiting peer leaders and junior mentors who model positive behavior and service.

Alignment with United Way mission/priorities
This program advances United Way of the Lakeshore’s Youth Success impact—particularly Family Engagement—by delivering individualized academic supports for at-risk students, partnering with schools and health/community organizations for wrap-around services, and actively engaging families as co-educators. By offering reliable, high-quality after-school care in a neighborhood of concentrated need, Lights On reduces childcare and access barriers for ALICE families, strengthens students’ social-emotional skills and academic confidence, and helps working caregivers remain stable—directly supporting United Way’s mission to inspire change and build thriving communities.