Counselors gearing up for after-school activities at YMCA of Greater Charlotte

CHARLOTTE — As parents get their kids ready for a new school year, many are looking for ways to keep them busy after the last bell rings.

Channel 9′s Almiya White went to the YMCA of Greater Charlotte to learn about a program that will help students find new hobbies once they leave the classroom.

Everyone is gearing up for the start of school, but these YMCA counselors are preparing for what comes after the school day.

BACK TO SCHOOL 2022: What you need to know for the first day

“(We are) excited to, kind of, be able to provide a space for children to be themselves and explore their interests,” said Amanda Little, the program’s youth development director.

Come Monday afternoon, the YMCA’s after-school program will welcome 1,200 students across their 12 local branches.

“Registration is quite healthy,” Little said. “I’m pretty sure we’ll probably exceed that and some of our spaces.”

Aside from academic help, the program also lets students work out some energy.

“They can be signed up for swim lessons, our dance program, soccer, flag football,” Little said. “All of those things are happening literally right on this campus.”

Little says she is optimist this year’s after-school activities will feel normal again.

“Just get back to that socialization piece that may have been missing out and in many of their lives over the last two years,” she said. “We still have that same mission, and our staff still get to do that same work.”

(WATCH BELOW: ‘Very fulfilling’: YMCA offers swim lessons to keep people safe)