Akira Johnson, President

Welcome to the 2011 -2012 Programming year for the Central New Jersey Chapter of Jack and Jill!

I am very excited to begin my first term as CNJ chapter president, the very chapter that I grew up in. When I joined Jack and Jill seven years ago, my only goal was to provide my own children with the same cultural, social and educational opportunities that I experienced in this chapter.

What I didn’t imagine is how much I would enjoy the fellowship of this dynamic group of women that made up the chapter’s membership. Not only did I find our membership to be an excellent source of parental and family counsel, but also excellent professional and most importantly girlfriend counsel. In the end I found for myself the same benefits that I wanted for my own children to get out of Jack and Jill - a enhanced awareness of who they are and friends who can relate to them and support them. So I am grateful for an opportunity to give back and serve as your chapter president.

This year’s national theme is AIM: Achieving Excellence, Inspiring Greatness, and Motivating Youth to Lead and Serve. We will also continue the AIM for Healthy Living program this year that was started last year.

Based on the successful leadership of past executive boards, we already have a blueprint for successful children’s and membership programming. We will continue the wonderful traditions that have already been created such as our Worship Brunch, Day of Service, Father’s Workshop, Black History Month, Holiday Party, Black Family Day, as well as our successful age group activities. Our new executive board has been meeting throughout the summer to get a head start on putting together the program year. We want to continue to increase the engagement of our members and children by focusing on creating high quality, meaningful and fun programs that meet the needs of our busy lifestyles.

I believe all of our members have unique qualities and skills that are invaluable to our children. We are calling on all new and seasoned Jills to contribute your time, new ideas and lessons learned to help make this our best year yet!

For those that are interested in making Jack & Jill a part of your family, please visit the national website (http://www.jackandjillinc.org) and our other pages for more information.