To provide children who do not have access or equal opportunities to community resources with a structured environment in which they may safely explore, learn, and share in a collective effort to educate and equip them for the future.
Description
The Jubilee Center was created by All Saints Episcopal Parish of Hoboken as a separate and non-sectarian organization in 1996 to help meet the social and economic needs of low-income children and families in Hoboken's low-income West Side neighborhood, home to the city's public housing projects and African American and Latino communities. Our mission is to equip children from our city's public housing with the tools to survive and overcome the many barriers they face in their young lives. We believe all children deserve a fair chance at creating a fulfilling life based on self-esteem, self-reliance, personal accountability, and respect for others. In carrying out our mission, we provide year-round after school and summer programming for children in grades K-6 in Hoboken's public housing. The target population for the Jubilee Children's Program is low-income African American and Latino young people between the ages five and 12 who live in Hoboken's public housing. They are among the most impoverished children in Hudson County. At Connors Elementary , the low-performing school most of our children attend, more than 95% of the students are low-income (only one other school in Hudson County has a greater percentage of low-income students) and eligible for the free lunch program. Last year, just 19% of third graders at Connors passed state tests in math and only 41% passed state tests in English - the lowest scores for third graders in the County. The Center, where our programming takes place, is located across the street from the public housing complex. As it is the only community center that offers free, year-round programming for children within the immediate neighborhood, the Jubilee Center is well-known in the pubic housing community. Families usually become aware of our programs through word-of-mouth, by seeing other children at the Center participating in our programs, or though flyers and posters regarding our programming and activities. The Jubilee Center has helped transform Hoboken's low-income West Side. It is the only permanent facility dedicated to ensuring a safe and nurturing environment for children in public housing throughout the year - the only safe haven from the streets in a neighborhood where there is a history of violent crime and drug-related arrests. The Center has served as a beacon to attract resources for the children - we have quality staff recruited from within the community and a host of collaborators from the non-profit, government and business sectors. The Jubilee Center helps to ensure that the growing wealth and resources of this revitalized city reach all of its residents.
