501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization
In Loving Memory
Jada Simone Sampson
With peaceful hearts, we honor the life of Jada Simone Sampson—a radiant soul whose creativity, kindness, and compassion shaped everyone she encountered. Jada was a devoted volunteer and visionary at Great Joy Community Development Corporation, working alongside her mother, Founder and Executive Director, Dr. La'Tesha, to create spaces for healing, expression, and connection.
Donations to Great Joy CDC support programs that reflect Jada’s legacy: creative expression, compassionate care, and embodied healing. Her spirit continues to guide our mission—calling us to serve with joy, lead with heart, and live fully.
Donations can be made online via greatjoycdc.org or via PayPal at greatjoycdc@gmail.com.
Jada Simone's Legacy Series
Jada Simone Legacy Programs
The Jada Simone Legacy Series honors Jada’s creativity, compassion, and love for movement and animals. These programs uplift youth through healing, expression, and community connection.
1. Creative Writing Lab
A space for youth to process emotions through poetry and storytelling.
2. Stretching & Body Movement Series
Trauma-informed movement, breathwork, and rhythm.
3. Animal Care & Compassion Program
Hands-on learning with local shelters. Launching 2026.
Jada Simone Legacy Program
A compassionate initiative led by Great Joy Community Development Corporation in partnership with The Barnyard Sanctuary
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Jada Simone embodied love in action — compassion, creativity, and showing up for those who needed care and healing. Her legacy lives on through the Jada Simone Legacy Program, which uplifts youth and communities through healing-centered programs rooted in creative expression, emotional wellness, mindful movement, and compassion for all living beings.
In that same spirit, this fundraiser is dedicated to supporting 300 rescued animals at The Barnyard Sanctuary in Hope, New Jersey — a safe haven that has operated for over 15 years and rescued more than 3,500 animals.
This campaign is specifically raising funds to provide hay for an entire year — literally life-saving support that ensures animals are fed, warm, healthy, and cared for every single day. Giving in Jada’s name turns compassion into action and sustains lives that depend on this care to survive and thrive.
About the Partnership
The Barnyard Sanctuary provides daily care for more than 300 animals, placing safety, health, and well-being above all else. Located in Hope, New Jersey, the Sanctuary relies on generous donors and partner organizations to sustain its life-saving work.
This campaign supports a collaborative partnership with the Jada Simone Animal Care & Compassion Program — an initiative dedicated to fostering meaningful connections with animal shelters and sanctuaries while expanding advocacy, protection, and compassionate care for animals everywhere.
Donate in Jada’s Name
Your gift provides life-saving nourishment for over 300 rescued animals and turns compassion into action.
Donate NowNew Jersey DCF School-Based High School Programs
Millville High School & Vineland High School
Great Joy Community Development Corporation provides New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF)–funded school-based mental health services for students enrolled at Millville High School and Vineland High School.
These programs support students’ emotional well-being, academic engagement, and overall resilience within the school environment. Services are delivered on-site during the school day and are accessible, confidential, and culturally responsive—reducing barriers to care and meeting students where they are.
Program Services Include
- Individual counseling and therapeutic support
- Group counseling focused on social-emotional learning, coping skills, and peer relationships
- Trauma-informed interventions addressing stress, grief, anxiety, and behavioral concerns
- Crisis support and early intervention
- Collaboration with school personnel and families to promote student success
All services are provided by licensed clinicians and supervised graduate-level interns, in alignment with New Jersey DCF standards and best practices in adolescent mental health care.
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ANCHOR: The Nest
ANCHOR provides the Access, Navigation, Care, Healing, Opportunity, and Resilience framework through The Nest, a safe, nurturing, school-based wellness environment designed to support students’ mental health, development, and protective factors.
ANCHOR: The Nest is a school-based wellness and support center designed to be a safe place where students can land, grow, and thrive through a trauma-informed, prevention-focused approach.
By connecting students and families to mental health support, skill-building, and coordinated services, The Nest strengthens protective factors, builds resilience, and promotes emotional well-being, academic engagement, and positive youth development. By meeting students where they are and surrounding them with consistent, caring support, ANCHOR: The Nest helps young people stabilize, develop healthy coping skills, and move forward with confidence.
Our Approach
We utilize a strengths-based, trauma-informed, and youth-centered approach that honors each student’s lived experience while fostering emotional regulation, self-awareness, and healthy decision-making.
Equity, dignity, and inclusion remain central to our work, recognizing the unique social and environmental factors that shape adolescent development.
Referral & Participation
Students may be referred through school administration, guidance counselors, teachers, or by self-referral with parental consent, in accordance with DCF and school district guidelines.
Services are provided at no cost to families and are funded through the New Jersey Department of Children and Families.
Interested in Services?
Participation requires parent or guardian consent. Complete the consent form to get started.
Complete Consent FormThe Mirror, Mirror Project™
Teen Girls Sexual Health & Emotional Intelligence Program
The Mirror, Mirror Project™ provides trauma-informed, school-based specialty services for Great Joy CDC’s DCF School-Based Youth Services Program (SBYSP) at Millville High School and Vineland High School.
This teen girls program centers sexual health education, self-esteem, and emotional intelligence, supporting young women in developing confidence, self-awareness, and healthy decision-making.
Scope of Services
- Delivery of The Mirror, Mirror Project™ trauma-informed curriculum
- Use of structured workbooks, facilitator guides, and lesson plans
- Facilitation of scheduled on-site sessions at participating schools
- Maintenance of attendance logs and session summaries
- Alignment with DCF SBYSP guidelines and school district policies
- Collaboration with GJCDC clinicians and school personnel
Program Focus
Empowering teen girls through culturally responsive, trauma-informed education that supports emotional health, body autonomy, and self-confidence.
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Youth Fashion & Wellness Lab™
The Youth Fashion & Wellness Lab™ is a trauma-informed, creativity-centered initiative serving students at Millville High School and Vineland High School.
The program integrates fashion design, entrepreneurship, mental health, and identity development to empower youth through creative expression and workforce readiness.
Program Components
- Fashion design, digital creation, color theory, and sewing fundamentals
- Mental health reflection through identity-centered design projects
- Youth-led micro-brand development and storytelling
- Social-emotional learning workshops through fashion
- Workforce readiness, customer service, and resume-building
- End-of-year youth showcase and community presentation
Branding & Showcase
Program branding includes “The Fashion & Wellness Lab: Powered by Leopold Jacobs 1983 & Great Joy CDC” and supports youth-designed merchandise, pop-up shops, and social campaigns that fund and sustain the program.