On October 12th, members of the Bridgeton community gathered together in the Families to College campus center on the first floor of Hopeloft to carve and decorate pumpkins just in time for the spookiest of holidays: Halloween!
The event was orchestrated by our very own family advocate and FTC supporter, Jessica Rivera. United Advocacy Group's Rich Nichols helped coordinate the event and Operation South Jersey's Hillary Nichols were there to help out as well.
Speaking to SNJ Today reporter Isaiah Showell, Jessica explained that the event was intended to promote family bonding and creativity, "The pumpkins are here, and they need to let the pumpkins be their canvas!"
Families to College is a free college and career-readiness program available to all Bridgeton families. It includes daily after-school programs hosted by Appel Farm, and is served by AmeriCorps members who have dedicated a year of their lives to support Bridgeton youth.
Speaking about the work she does with FTC, Jessica said, "If a student wants to go to college, I help them. If their parents want to get higher education, I help them do that. If they want to get a better job, I help them do that."
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