Apopka Family Learning Center Information

Our organization’s founding purpose was to create a center for advocacy and educational opportunities, which would advance individuals’ level of self-sufficiency and expand their prospects for a brighter future. Justice and Peace Office, Inc.(JPO) was envisioned and founded by Sister Teresa McElwee, a nun with the order of Notre Dame de Namur, and was led by her until 2008. JPO has a history of advocacy, the creation of fourteen separate programs, and the building of Apopka Family Learning Center (AFLC) in its list of accomplishments. Today, when one hears about our history as the Justice and Peace Office, they often ask how the name originated. The philosophy of the name is simplified by the following quote: “If you want Peace, work for Justice”. JPO raised the standard for community based-organizations by extending the mission beyond the confines of JPO and working to establish other non-profit organizations that will support the poor. Many of these programs founded over the past thirty years have become agencies in their own right and now operate separately from the Justice and Peace Office. Even though she retired in 2008, we are proud to say that we are continuing Sister Teresa's legacy. With a renewed vision of our purpose in the community we have worked to improve and update ourselves so we can better serve our clients and the broader community through our various programs.