Empowering Children and Families Through Education
In 2007, the Justice and Peace Office (JPO), Inc. celebrated our 30th anniversary, our third decade of service to Central Florida.
The Apopka Family Learning Center (AFLC) building is the centerpiece of that founding organization. We are located in the heart of Apopka, surrounded by homes, local farms, and nurseries. We are in fact in the backyards of the very people we are reaching out to serve.
Recently, the Justice and Peace Office has embraced a new marketing strategy and vision for the future. The Board of Directors unanimously voted for a new branding campaign in an effort to clarify our mission and build community support. As part of the campaign, the Justice and Peace Office and Apopka Family Learning Center will join together under one organization and one new name, Apopka Family Learning Center. What a significant milestone in the life of the organization! By recognizing both names, we are bringing together the past and the present to extend our mission beyond the previous confines of the organization.
Apopka Family Learning Center is working harder than ever to respond to the needs of the people we serve as their needs and numbers grow. We are one of only three organizations in the region that is currently focused on serving the needs of the farm worker and rural working poor, an underserved population, and we are the only one of these three organizations that focuses on elementary school-aged children and their parents.
We believe that by working with elementary school children, it is practicing proactive measures intended to increase graduation rates, increase retention, and reduce drop-out rates for children served by AFLC. By assisting the parents, we take an intervention approach to supporting their efforts to care for the next generation.
In 2008, our founder, Sister Teresa McElwee retired, and we are fortunate to have her continued support and inspiration as we enter a new era. We have a new C.E.O. and have also welcomed several new board members. The new leadership team has reviewed lessons learned from our past. We look ahead to expanding our programs and developing new ones to meet the needs of our community.
Click here to view our 2009 Annual Report
