A project committed to supporting local agencies

that care for and educate children at risk.

Family Day Nursery Mural Project

Community Advocates (CA) assist with special assignments for local agencies in our service area that work for children at risk on a daily basis. JLMN Volunteers work independently or together in task forces and complete a variety of assignments each year for JLMN Founded Organizations, our Community Advisory Board members, or other service area non-profits. Projects include:

• Classroom Murals for Family Day Nursery were designed and painted by JLMN members and their children as part of a CA children-for-children initiative. Seven bright, positive art murals celebrate the diversity of the students and have transformed the interior of the school. Family Day Nursery is a full-day preschool serving low income families run by Family Service League.
   
• Financial Literacy Workshops for Children were hosted by JLMN in collaboration with the Early Childhood Development Center (a Montclair Head Start school), while parents attended adult sessions sponsored by HOMECorp and TD Bank. The children’s curriculum emphasized skills that are especially important during the current economic crisis.
   
• Educational Fair for Aging-out Foster Children where 179 teenagers learned about summer employment, secondary education, scholarships, law guardians (advocates in family court), and how to augment their life skills. CA is proud to have partnered with the Junior League of the Oranges & Short Hills and Rutgers Law School.
   
• An Outdoor Classroom Garden at Family Day Nursery was designed and installed thanks to a generous donation of labor and plants by Upper Montclair Landscaping.  Blueberry bushes, flowering evergreens and a vegetable garden transformed the front yard of this year-round school, an area previously off limits to the preschoolers in deference to poison ivy.
   
• Website Analysis for HOMECorp which resulted in CA sourcing a technology partner that provides ongoing assistance to HOMECorp's efforts to provide affordable housing for Montclair low-income families.
   
• Writing newsletter articles for HOMECorp to assist the organization's ongoing efforts to educate the community and its donors about the vital impact of their work.
   
• A Children's Book Drive which resulted in over 120 donated books distributed to children from low-income families through Community Impact’s Read Across America and St. Clare Hospital Easter Festival, and Arts for Academics' programs at Neighborhood Child Care Center.
   
• A Hotel Amenities Drive for the Essex County Rape Care Center collected soaps, shampoo, mouth wash, lotion, toothpaste, and other items for rape care kits. The Essex County Rape Care Center is run by the Family Service League.