This holiday season, MFEE (The Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence) and AAPI Montclair have teamed up in the hope of offering the 40 families of ELL students in MFEE's Navegadores Escolares program a unique gift: the gift of agency, by funding a holiday shopping trip for each family that would allow them to make their own purchasing decisions.

Many of the families of Spanish-speaking English Language Learners in Montclair's public schools do not have their own vehicles, and recently moved from warmer climates such as Central America. With the pandemic limiting other options, MFEE has been supporting families with Uber gift cards. The hope is that with your generosity, we'll be able to offer each family a roundtrip Uber to Target (est. cost: $20) and a gift card to purchase their own winter gear, family gifts, or other necessities. This would be especially powerful for the adults/teens who want to choose their own clothing and winter items. While holiday drives often request toys or wrapped gifts, providing families with the opportunity to get around and shop for their own needs is a powerful gift in itself.

Through this Givebutter page, you can choose to donate any amount toward Uber or Target gift cards for the Navegadores families. MFEE will equitably divide whatever is donated, dollar-for-dollar, between the 40 families in the Navegadores program. Your donations to MFEE, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, are fully tax-deductible. To ensure the Navegadores families have time to shop the weekend of Dec. 18-19, please send your donation by 1:00pm on December 15th.

Many of us in AAPI Montclair have heard from our elders or know first-hand what it's like to arrive in a new country with very little, navigate language barriers, and work to build a new life for ourselves and our families. We know there are many demands on families' budgets this time of year, and are grateful for any amount.

Children or adults interested in sending the Navegadores Escolares families notes, cards, or drawings should please mail or drop them off by 12/15 to Amber Reed, 30 Norman Rd, Montclair, NJ 07043. We'll forward them all to MFEE, to be delivered to the families.

About Navegadores Escolares
In just three months, MFEE’s Navegadores Escolares program has expanded quickly to support 60 Montclair Public School students, and it is anticipated to continue to grow. Until now, families and students have been navigating school and community on their own. In systems that operate almost exclusively in English, non-English-speaking parents in Montclair face many barriers to meaningfully engaging and supporting their children. Students face barriers to accessing the education and fundamental resources to which they are entitled.

That’s where Navegadores come in. MFEE has recruited and trained a powerful posse of over thirty Spanish-speaking community members and matches them to provide one-on-one holistic support to each familia. Navegadores help with everything from registering students in school to helping parents navigate the online portal, to attending meetings with teachers and counselors, to connecting parents to health, housing and food resources. They also connect students to community programs that nurture their talent for art and sports. Additionally, MFEE provides regular community building gatherings and workshops to nurture self-advocacy among las familias.

About MFEE
Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence (MFEE), Montclair’s local education fund, is an independent non-profit that raises private dollars to engage and empower students, teachers and supporters of public education. MFEE drives innovation and collaborates with the Montclair community to create equitable access to high quality education for all students.