Arnold's Crusade to The Hill for the After-School Programs!

The bad news is that Arnold shaved his awesome beard. The good news is that he did it for a very good cause: to clean up and look presentable in Washington, DC. Here he spoke with Senator Boxer, Senator Reid and other heroic politicians in attempts to fight for after-school program funding. The Oak, as many of you know, is the founder of the After-School All-Stars (ASAS), which provides comprehensive after-school programs that keep children safe and help them succeed in school and life.

Schwarzenegger has been involved with after-school programs for 20 years so he knows how effective they are. While in Washington on October 30th, the Governator had meetings on the Hill to talk to congressional leaders about how after-school funding is an investment that we can't afford to cut.

Arnold opened a forum on Reddit.com in the morning and took several questions including one from TheArnoldFans.

TheArnoldFans: Is it true that sometimes you offer rewards to the kids within the ASAS who do very well? I've heard a rumor that you once gave them a tank ride?!

Schwarzenegger: "Yes. I go skiing with the students every year. And it is true that one of the rewards for the best students is to ride on my tank. Here is a shot."

"Schwarzenegger's visit to the Hill yesterday helps us further the importance of after school programs. Yesterday was a huge win," the After-School All-Stars's Kristy Gausman tells TheArnoldFans.com.
The Oak says the After-school program is currently funded through the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program.

"I am fighting to maintain that funding for the millions of kids that need it,  Arnold tells another person on Reddit.  "We know the programs work, so my argument is simply not to cut something we know is effective. I'd love to increase funding, but I understand that there is limited money to go around right now so I'm just trying to protect what we have. Just had a great meeting with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. We go way back to when he helped me bring After-School All-Stars to Chicago."

The After-School All-Stars  has an effective model that serves almost 100,000 kids nationwide. Check out www.afterschoolallstars.org.
"Of course I will always brag about the All-Stars," Arnold announced. "In California, Proposition 49 funds programs for hundreds of thousands of kids. We know this works. HERE is a review of multiple studies."

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