Mission

We are on a mission to keep Jamison Novello’s beautiful spirit alive. Jamison’s GoFundMe campaign raised more than $57,000 for The Jamison Novello Scholarship at her beloved Broadway Dance Center (“BDC”). In December of 2019, another $7,000 in scholarships was awarded to two very deserving dancers.

Due to COVID, BDC temporarily closed and their showcase will take place by Zoom. Jamison’s March fundraiser also had to be postponed until March 2021. However, thanks to the custom PuraVida bracelet sale, the Bonfire shirt sale, a portion of the current GoFundMe and a touching Zumba class to raise money for the scholarship, we awarded another $12,000 in scholarships by Zoom on June 9, 2020. Jamison’s legacy shines with these $67,000 in much-appreciated scholarships. 

Jamison was a gorgeous girl who lit up the room with her smile and infectious giggle. She had the kindest heart and worried about everyone around her. If you knew her, you know she lived to dance. This is the legacy she would want and the one she deserves.

How she died does not define who she was, how she lived does. She lived helping and encouraging people. She was giving what she needed and wasn’t receiving. Jamison would want her story to help people and prevent more heartache. All the walks, fundraising and volunteering with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (“AFSP”) do just that.

I will not allow Jamison’s story to end.

On September 28th, 2019 what should’ve been Jamison’s Sweet 16, her family held a fundraising bake sale outside their home. The sale raised over $8,000. A $4,000 check was mailed to the Long Island Crisis Center in Jamison’s memory. The remaining $4,200 went towards BDC scholarships in 2020. 

All proceeds are now split between the Jamison Novello BDC Scholarship Fund and the AFSP.

On September 19, 2020 the 2nd Annual Bake Sale in Jamison’s memory raised $11,577.  It was heartwarming to see how many people came out to lend support that day, albeit in masks during a pandemic.

On September 18, 2021, the 3rd Annual Bake Sale raised $12,010!

About Jamison

Jamison left this Earth too soon, as a sophomore in high school at just 15 years old. Jama is the family nickname given to her the day after she was born. She made a terrible and permanent decision, but Jama can’t be defined by one lasting decision. She deserves to be remembered for all she was, before that one day.

Jamison was silly, giggly, smart, head strong, determined, feisty, responsible, authentic, and beyond independent. By two years old, she could hold a conversation with any adult in the room. We read for hours a day until she started school and her vocabulary reflected that. She would later write pieces for school assignments and projects that were well beyond her years, and ELA continued to be one of her favorite subjects. Not unlike her mom, math was not a favorite subject. She gave it her usual all since getting by wasn’t good enough.

The most defining characteristics of this beautiful girl, were her smile and her kind and pure heart. At just six years old, she took all the money she saved and bought her papa a camera after his broke. Jamison what was good in this world. She literally didn’t understand meanness. She didn’t understand it because she didn’t practice it. While she could be sassy like all kids, she was kind to everyone, especially if you didn’t have someone. She worried about everyone and was upset if someone sat alone, was made fun of, or confided something they were upset about.

Jamison loved traditions. Her favorite, even at 15, was going into the city to look at the decorated windows, the Bryant Park outdoor holiday fair, and to Santa Land at Macy’s, on the first Wednesday of December. She loved to decorate, but not eat, gingerbread houses every year and would ask if I found them at the store beginning in Fall! She hated getting her nails done and forget about letting someone touch her feet. Jama absolutely loved Starbucks, Sobol, smoothies, and ice cream. She loved going to the beach, hanging out in our pool or on the swing set, listening to music, FaceTiming with friends, taking baths, and, of course, dancing. To see Jamison dance, to witness the joy it gave her, and see just how good she was getting, made me beam. She worked so hard and was so dedicated.

Jamison will always be our daughter and the big sister to her three little siblings, who miss her so very much.