The Illinois State Board of Education awarded Evanston’s Youth Organizations Umbrella a $270,000 annual grant this month to launch after-school and summer programs at two more Evanston schools.

Come February, the nonprofit will organize after-school activities at Dawes Elementary School and Martin Luther King Jr. Laboratory School, servicing a total of seven Evanston schools and two other community sites [news release], according to a news release.

“We are thrilled to be expanding our services to Dawes and King Lab,” YOU executive director Seth Green said in the release.

Hardy Murphy, superintendent of Evanston-Skokie District 65, said in the release the grant will allow YOU to serve 150 more District 65 students, in addition to the more than 500 the organization already serves [news release].

“We know that these services make a real difference in the lives of youth and that they provide critical support to working parents,” Green said in the release.

The grant from the ISBE is renewable for up to five years, “assuming the continued availability of federal funds,” according to the release. In October, Green announced that YOU received a $166,500 federal grant for youth outreach programs.

— Manuel Rapada