From sports to drama clubs, after-school activities are a great creative outlet for youth, especially those experiencing foster care. Fun activities outside of the classroom can help build confidence and make safe connections with peers and caring adults. Plus, they act as a necessary emotional outlet when dealing with trauma and disrupted routines.

After-School Activities to Inspire Growth

Creativity is not just for artists and young children. After-school activities provide outlets for youth which can include improvements in:

• Mental health
• Academics
• Social skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Emotional intelligence
• Self-esteem
• Communication
• And more!

After-school programs provide meaningful opportunities to connect over shared passions and build a sense of community. These creative types of hands-on learning can support children in foster care as well. Through these activities, kids can process experiences and discover themselves. These points of stability, connection and identity can be invaluable for youth who are dealing with trauma and uncertainty.   

Helping Youth Explore Their Interests & Talents 

While the specific programs and clubs will vary depending on the community you live in, a lot of these after-school activities will exist in one form or another! Check with your school district, sports facilities and your local parks and recreation department for creative after-school options for children and youth. You can also try asking community groups on social media, especially if you specifically want to find good after-school activities for youth in foster care, where they can feel included and seen.

Arts and Crafts Programs

We believe crafting is a great creative outlet for people of any age! Arts and crafts are a great way for youth to be creative in a personal, hands-on way. Sign your child up for a painting, sculpture or crafting class to hone their fine motor skills and help them find a new passion!

Performing Arts

Does your child love to dance around the house? Are they always singing in the shower? Or is he or she a signature drama queen? Performing arts are the perfect creative outlet for children and youth who love to express themselves through music, movement or acting—and there are plenty of opportunities for them to get involved! Performing arts can also increase empathy and cultural awareness by introducing children to songs, stories and movements from around the globe.

Beyond joining band, choir or their school’s drama club, there are a lot of performing arts programs throughout Nebraska to keep children and youth engaged in the after-school hours, such as Theatre Arts for Kids in Lincoln and school programs with Omaha Performing Arts.

STEM or Maker Clubs

For the more scientifically-minded, STEM and Maker clubs are great for critical thinking, embracing curiosity and learning to work well with others. But STEM learning isn’t just about science, technology, engineering and math—it impacts everything!

STEM is the backbone of society today, impacting everything from how we work to how we communicate. Exploring STEM learning is not just a creative outlet—it provides building blocks for the child’s future!

Local Volunteer Opportunities

After-school programs have a positive ripple effect. Even beyond impacting the children and youth involved, they can be a way for younger members of the community to build relationships across generations, cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds. By encouraging your child to participate in volunteer opportunities with local projects, nonprofits, retirement homes or homeless shelters, you’re helping them become more empathetic, compassionate people who care about their community.

Malachi Coleman: Fostering Change Through Creative Outlets

If you are a foster parent or are considering becoming one, you know how powerful your support can be for youth in foster care in Nebraska. This is especially true when paired with a creative outlet that helps them find their own passion! This is what happened for Malachi Coleman when his foster parents and eventual adoptive parents, Craig and Miranda, gave him the unconditional love and support he needed to believe in himself after a traumatic early childhood.

After being abandoned by their mother at the ages of 5 and 2, Malachi and his sister Nevaeh were moved between multiple foster homes. Eventually, they found stability when Craig and Miranda became their foster parents. The painful beginning became a story of healing and redemption for Malachi. Now, he had both support and opportunities he’d never experienced before.

Malachi was a natural athlete and became very involved in football, basketball and track throughout high school. He then went on to play for the University of Nebraska in his freshman year. But Malachi “Chi” Coleman didn’t stop there—he wanted to help other youth in Nebraska foster care see the worth and potential in themselves that his parents helped him discover.

Fly Like Chi Foundation

With the help of his parents, Chi created the Fly Like Chi Foundation to give children and youth experiencing foster care access to opportunities like the ones that helped him thrive. Fly Like Chi has campaigns to raise money for after-school activities specifically for youth in foster care, including sports, arts, technology and education.

The foundation aims to cover activity fees for children in care so finances never stand in the way of the creative outlets these youth so desperately need. Fly Like Chi has only grown from that initial goal to include larger funding for after-school programs throughout Minnesota and Nebraska.

How You Can Support Creative Outlets & Afterschool Programs for Youth in Foster Care

Clubs, sports and activities are cornerstones of childhood and teen years. Here, kids discover their worth, bond with others and create lifelong memories. Youth experiencing foster care need more than just a roof over their heads and a hot meal. Beyond their physical needs, kids in foster care deserve to have these kinds of positive, impactful childhood experiences. Helping youth in foster care access creative outlets can be the difference between a life of struggle and a future impacting others the way Malachi Coleman does.

If you care about supporting youth in foster care and helping them access creative outlets, donate to organizations like KVC Nebraska or Fly Like Chi to support programs that help children explore creativity, build confidence and find connection.

If you feel called to do more, learn what it means to become a foster parent with KVC Nebraska. Children and youth just like Malachi are waiting for someone just like you.