Dear Friends,
Thank you to everyone who responded with your condolences and wonderful tributes to Joan. I am compiling your messages to share with her family.
Joan's husband, Clopper, has scheduled the memorial service for Joan as follows:
Date: Sunday, October 6, 2019
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Location: St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 4512 College Ave, College Park, MD 20740
All are welcome to attend and we hope to see you there as we celebrate the life and legacy of Joan. For those wishing to send a card, please mail it to: Clopper Almon, c/o Alliance for Childhood, PO Box 5758, Annapolis, MD 21403.
Alliance for Childhood, has established the Joan Almon Childhood Legacy Fund in Joan's honor. In reflecting on Joan's motto, 'will act', your gifts in her memory will support the activities that were so important to her.
Often under-the-radar, to advance and promote play, Joan would allocate and provide resources for:
new and innovative play projects;
early career playworkers and emerging leaders;
collaborations with our international Alliance for Childhood partner organizations; and
advocacy initiatives to strengthen networks and broaden the reach of the Alliance for Childhood message.
Your contribution to this special fund will help carry on Joan's passion. Please click here to donate.
Following are a few of the many tributes to Joan that capture both the essence of who she was and the legacy of her work:
"Joan Almon was a powerhouse. Her energy, passion, orbit of influence, her intelligence, her excellent interpersonal skills, her communication skills, all made her the dynamo we needed to launch this baby of an organization. Without Joan there would be no Alliance for Childhood. Joan has prematurely left a huge legacy to the world. We thank her for her baby, now an adolescent: Alliance for Childhood. We deeply mourn her loss," said Marilyn Benoit, M.D., Child and adolescent psychiatrist, Howard University Hospital; founding partner and past Alliance for Childhood board president.
“Joan Almon was one of the finest people I've known. She used her vast intellect and tactful, charismatic personality to bring people together in friendship and purpose - making revolutionary progress in raising awareness of the issues impacting children in the modern age of high stress, high anxiety early childhood education. Her work will ripple into the future, impacting generations," said Scott Nash, CEO of MOM's Organic Market; past Alliance for Childhood board member.
"Joan will go down as one of greatest child advocates in history," said William Crain, Ph.D., Professor of psychology at the City College of New York; founding partner and past Alliance for Childhood board member.
“Joan Almon's warrior and pioneer spirit sought to protect the rights of children when it was a lonely task. She introduced many advocates into each others' networks and thereby greatly expanded the impact of the Alliance. She kept meetings informal, welcoming wide-ranging discussions. Astute in building on diverse issues - from commercial exploitation of children and dangers of screen time to the importance of play, Joan brought respect for children through a Waldorf lens of understanding," said Elizabeth Goodenough, Ph.D., Lecturer at the Residential College, University of Michigan; founding partner and past Alliance for Childhood board member.
“Joan was a founding steering committee member of the US Play Coalition, sharing with us, for the last decade, her passion for and expertise in the value of play for all children. Her legacy of caring for the health and well-being of young people is indelible. She has left a big hole in the hearts of many play advocates," said Stephanie Garst, Executive Director, US Play Coalition.
“Joan was a strong pillar in the International Group of the Alliance for Childhood. Every few months a group of us from the Alliance for Childhood in Brazil, Brussels, the UK, and the US get together via Skype to share the latest developments in our work. Joan's engagement, wise words and enthusiastic support were a constant inspiration. It seems strange she'll no longer be with us, though I'm sure her presence will still be felt," said Marion Briggs, Coordinator of the International Alliance for Childhood Network.
Sending you all my very best wishes,
With warm regards,
Linda L. Rhoads, Executive Director