A Season of Growth Across NJCDC

Each spring in Paterson, something familiar returns.

Outside our Community Charter School of Paterson’s elementary campus, cherry blossom trees bloom once again — soft bursts of color that arrive almost quietly, but never go unnoticed. For nearly two decades, these trees have stood as a reminder of what it means to care for a place over time. When construction once threatened to remove them, NJCDC Founder & CEO Bob Guarasci made sure at least one would remain.

Years earlier, when NJCDC opened the Paterson Family Center in 2003, cherry blossom trees were planted outside the preschool — an effort backed and encouraged by Bob — where today the youngest learners still gather beneath their branches, sometimes caught in a swirl of falling petals on a breezy afternoon.

That instinct — to protect what is beautiful, to invest in what can grow — is at the heart of what spring represents across NJCDC.

This season, that sense of renewal is showing up everywhere.

Moments of Joy at Pennington Park

At Pennington Park, more than 150 children spread out across the grass for our annual Easter Egg Hunt, filling the morning with energy, laughter, and a shared sense of excitement. With more than 3,000 eggs hidden throughout the park, families moved from one surprise to the next — some children pausing for photos with the Easter Bunny, others racing toward the chance to win bicycles and prizes. Behind the scenes, members of our Paterson Youth Council helped bring the event to life, creating a day that felt both joyful and distinctly communal.

These moments come together because people step in — to plan, to show up, and to be part of something larger than themselves.

Ideas Taking Root Across Paterson

That same spirit is taking root across our neighborhoods through this spring’s Neighborhood Activities Fund minigrants. With support from the Regional Foundation, residents are once again leading the way — designing and facilitating programs that reflect the creativity, culture, and priorities of their own communities.

Across the city, these efforts are already in motion. A 10-week volleyball program is helping young athletes build confidence and teamwork. Photography classes are inviting participants to see Paterson through a new lens — focusing on light, composition, and storytelling. In dance studios and community spaces, Afro-Peruvian movement classes are bringing people together through rhythm and shared cultural expression. Elsewhere, residents are learning sewing techniques, exploring Andean music traditions, and documenting the beauty of their neighborhoods through projects like Picture Paterson.

Each initiative may start small, but together they create something larger — a network of activity, creativity, and connection that continues to grow outward.

A Tradition That Brings People Together

On Good Friday, that sense of collective experience took a different form.

Thousands gathered in Paterson for the annual Way of the Cross performance at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. A public procession moved through the streets before the reenactment of Jesus Christ’s final hours concluded inside the church — drawing the community together in reflection and remembrance.  This year’s performance, led by Sebastian Delgado in the role of Jesus, offered a moving interpretation of a tradition that continues to resonate deeply across generations.

Like many longstanding traditions in Paterson, it is an act of faith — and equally, of unity and shared presence.

Growth on Our Campuses

Back on NJCDC’s campuses, signs of growth are just as visible.

At the Community Charter School of Paterson, both the girls and boys basketball teams pushed their way into the playoffs this season — the result of months of hard work, discipline, and belief in one another. Under the leadership of Athletic Director Erica Plaza and coaches Mr. Pride and Mr. McLean, student-athletes were supported not only by their coaches, but by families, classmates, and staff who filled the stands and made their presence felt at every game.

And in our classrooms, that same energy continues to take shape in different ways. During our Read Across America Day celebrations at both CCSP and the Paterson Family Center, volunteers joined students to share stories, spark imagination, and reinforce a love of reading — small moments, but ones that often leave a lasting mark.

What We Grow, Together

Taken together, these moments — joyful, reflective, creative, and hard-earned — begin to tell a larger story.

Like the cherry blossoms outside these buildings, much of this work doesn’t happen overnight. It requires patience, consistency, and care. It means protecting what matters, even when it would be easier not to. And it means trusting that, with the right support, something meaningful will take root and grow.

Each spring, the blossoms return as a reminder.

And each year, so does the work — steady, rooted in community, and always moving forward.