While JAMM is proud of the programs already being implemented and places great importance on addressing the pressing material needs of families under financial strain, we have made it our mission to strive to do more.

Raising a child is so much more than just providing them material comforts and security—it’s also nurturing their personal development and socializing them into a healthy, balanced, well-adjusted individual. The JAMM family hopes that in addition to helping maintain the financial stability of a household, we can go further to support the strengthening of family and community bonds and help establish the constructive environment necessary to provide a child a rich social and spiritual life. By building stronger relationships, encouraging community engagement, and helping instill positive Christian values, we can fulfill more completely not only the physical but also the emotional and spiritual needs of children for whom this side of life might otherwise not receive much-needed attention. This goes toward our ultimate goal, which all parents share: raising healthy and fulfilled individuals who will participate in and positively impact their churches, their schools, their neighborhoods, and all the other communities they’ll be a part of.

As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child. The importance of parental guidance is obvious and can’t be underestimated, but as children enter school age they start to spend more time out in the world with their peers than they do at home. Likely every parent thinks about the company their child keeps and the interactions they have when mom and dad aren’t around. But while the idea of your child being vulnerable to the world’s influences may be worrisome to some, it presents its own unique set of opportunities. If your child bonds with the right people—people who are positive influences, and might reach and teach your child in ways a parent can’t—then it goes without saying that this can only benefit your child.

The Rightway Youth program will connect JAMM to the children from the supported families and also to other youths in the community. The program will include interactive types of activities such as Bible study video-chat sessions between youths of about the same age, or video discussions about child-friendly topics.  The intent is that children will be talking with other children about semi-structured safe topics—with adult supervision of course. This serves a variety of purposes—alleviating feelings of social isolation that children of single parents might feel, giving children an alternative to more negative influences, and encouraging positive relationships.

The Rightway Youth program also will provide parents a pledge form they can give their kids. By signing the forms, the children will “pledge” to act in a respectful and responsible manner, doing things such as listening to their parents, avoiding the use of offensive language, and avoiding mature music and Web sites.

Together, these approaches will help children learn positive social involvement and family values—setting them on the “right way” to being the best they can be.