Activist and former U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas Nicole Avant on Friday helped open the Jacqueline Avant Children and Family Center at the MLK Medical Campus in the Watts-Willowbrook community of Los Angeles, CA in memory of her mother.
“My family and I are thrilled and honored to celebrate the unveiling of the Jacqueline Avant Children and Family Center,” Nicole Avant said. “For over 50 years, my mom was dedicated to the mental and physical and spiritual health of the children and families in South Los Angeles and was on a mission to improve the quality of life for those less fortunate.”
Philanthropist and community leader Jacqueline Avant, spouse to legendary music industry executive Clarence Avant, was 81 years old when she was fatally shot during a home invasion in December 2021.
The three-story children and family center is a 50,000-square-foot facility that employs variety of programs to address the needs of at-risk children struggling with trauma, health and mental health problems. The first two floors of the center will be open to the community this summer, and the remaining floor is slated for completion by the end of the year.
To quote from Marc Malkin’s Variety.com article:
The center opening and dedication attracted giants of the music industry, including Jerry Moss, Jimmy Jam, Phil Quartararo, L.A. Reid, Hollywood management powerhouse Benny Medina, real estate tycoon and former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso, actor Holly Robinson Peete and Nicole’s husband, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos.
Los Angles Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell opened the ceremony before handing the mic to Dr. Janet Arnold-Clark, who detailed the lifesaving and affirming work being done at the center.
With the opening of the center, Nicole and her family have turned their focus from tragedy to helping others. “My friend Dionne said to me, ‘The greatest way you can honor your mom’s life is to live to the fullest. That is what you have to do,’” she says. “Your job is to live to the fullest because you don’t know how long you have on this earth, no one does. Sometimes you have three months, sometimes you have three years, you just don’t know. People remember you by your good works. That’s what people remember.”
It was an honor to celebrate the legacy of Jacqueline Avant at the unveiling and dedication ceremony for the Jacqueline Avant Children and Family Center in the Watts-Willowbrook community. Mrs. Avant was a devout philanthropist and a long-time supporter of children and (1/3) pic.twitter.com/gwRkOgrl6s
— Holly J. Mitchell (@HollyJMitchell) April 29, 2023
Jacqueline Avant’s assailant, Aariel Maynor, was sentenced to life in state prison with a minimum of 150 years, after pleading guilty to Avant’s murder.
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Born to Joe and Katherine Jackson on May 16, 1966,