At the time, Murrow said the program sought to "point to the common meeting grounds of beliefs, which is the essence of brotherhood and the floor of our civilization." In 2004, NPR started an exciting national project by the same name, inviting people to write about the core beliefs that guide their daily lives.

As leaders, it is important that we are able to articulate what we believe for ourselves, for our organizations and for our profession. At the Annual NAA Affiliate Leader meeting, NAA Affiliate Leaders, Board Members and guests were challenged to create "This We Believe" essays modeled after This I Believe, the popular NPR podcast series

The following was penned by Mercadi Crawford, Michelle Pina, Dara Rose, Nichelle Harris and Sheronda Witter:

We believe in giving the same level of support and encouragement as we have received in life or more.

We believe persistence creates opportunity and with opportunity comes knowledge and knowledge is the key to the world.

We believe the world can be an angry and scary place and daily acts of kindness make a difference, as does going the extra mile to help a child or family overcome an obstacle.

We believe that every child and young person deserves and needs adults outside their families to express care and open doors and opportunities to explore.

We believe all youth regardless of their ethnicity, socio-economic status, or zip code deserve to be loved, heard and to know that they matter.

We believe that afterschool programs develop future leaders who will change the world.

Hear, hear!

Interested in sharing your "This I Believe" essays about afterschool and afterschool professionals with the larger NAA Community? Review the guidelines here and e-mail your submission for consideration to info@naaweb.org.