Non-Profit In Memory of Jacqueline Avant Opens

Activist and former U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas Nicole Avant 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. The nonprofit was created by citizens and stakeholders to facilitate the revitalization of the MLK Medical Campus in South LA.

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. 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.

The three-story children and family center is a 50,000-square-foot facility which employs a 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 2023.

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.

Avante’s family turned their focus from tragedy to helping others. Nicole said “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.”