On a mission to improve the quality of life for all residents of Jefferson Parish, both now and in the future, Jefferson Community Foundation (JCF) is a nonprofit, community foundation focusing on the needs of the community and the power of philanthropy. With a rapidly expanding population, JCF is actively working to improve all areas of life for Jefferson Parish residents through senior initiatives, transit, race and equity, education, neighborhood support, and overall wellness.
A focus in JCF’s continuing wellness efforts is the development of a regional Aquatics Center on the 100-year-old historic Hope Haven campus on the Westbank. The project’s public, private, nonprofit partnership model brings together many sectors of the Parish and state for the common good, with the Center opening opportunities to host national, regional, and local events. Other exciting collaborations include the Jefferson Ready Start Network (JRSN), a coalition dedicated to enhancing early childhood education for children from birth to age four in the parish, and the Jefferson Community Youth Leadership (JCYL) program, which is open to high school junior and senior students in Jefferson Parish public, private, and parochial schools. The JCYL curriculum includes an opening retreat in September, then moves on to six (6) monthly thought-provoking sessions that expose students to the many facets of Jefferson Parish and how they fit into the fabric of the community.
With the highest senior population in the state of Louisiana, one of JCF’s primary focuses is the sustainability of services for our aging population while also incentivizing new, younger residents to stay in the parish. Through evaluation efforts and widespread quality of life surveys, JCF is making active strides in assuring Jefferson Parish is a great place to live for this generation and the next.
