YMCA students’ after-school video wins national contest   By KARA RHODES kara.rhodes@timesnews.com What do you get when you take a police officer, an Indian, a construction worker and a cowboy to the YMCA? A winning public-service announcement. Students in an after-school program of the local YMCA’s downtown branch used images that paid homage to an old Village People song to create a twominute video about the importance of after-school programs. Their video won first place for 9- to 12-year-olds in a national contest called “Don’t Be An American Idle.” The contest was sponsored by the nonprofit group Afterschool Alliance. Two of the 35 students who created the spot — sisters Aundria and Janelle Van Dyke, 11 and 12 years old respectively — traveled to Washington, D.C., this week to accept the award. Joining them were Tina Carter, the Downtown YMCA’s executive director; Melissa Fuller, the Edison Site director, who helped the students develop the script; and Jeff Natalie, who loaned the students equipment and helped produce the spot. “The kids really did an amazing job creating and producing this spot,” Carter said. “They came up with the concept on their own and learned to operate camera and editing equipment.” The video shows two boys pondering about what to do after school when an Indian walks up and begins to sing the 1970s disco hit “YMCA.” Then the two boys start making their way to the Y, escorted in turn by a police officer, construction worker and cowboy, a nod to some of the costumes that the Village People wear on stage. U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, DCalif., gave the girls the YMCA’s prize, a digital camcorder. But that wasn’t all. “We’ve been given an award, not exactly a certificate, but a paper showing gratitude,” Aundria, 11, said. The awards were handed out during an Afterschool Caucus meeting, recently formed to raise public awareness about the need for more after-school programs and increase resources for quality after-school care. Senators and congressmen serve on the caucuses. Boxer is one of the founders. Aundria said that the congressmen and senators who spoke at the meeting Thursday were appreciative of the children’s work and after-school programs in general. “They showed a lot of care about the program and all of its meaning,” Aundria said. After the awards ceremony, the girls and YMCA officials went sightseeing around the nation’s capitol. “We’ve walked at least two miles already and I have church shoes on, so my feet are really hurting,” Janelle said. ON THE WEB See the students’ video at www.afterschoolscene.com. KARA RHODES can be reached at 870-1858 or by e-mail.