Autumn Years Winter 2023/24

has created a bookmark featuring a long-legged blue elephant. Sales from the bookmark will be his philanthropic contribution to the Elephant Aid International Program. Examples such as this help people better understand neurodiversity, a word that includes many levels of ability. Anna’s ways to help them, let them be heard, let them express themselves. Let’s be empathetic,” Anna says. “We can’t create typical people out of atypical people. We need to have more inclusion, more

The Relaxation Lounge.

T he place and the ambiance are the result of a dream fostered by Anna Villa-Bager, president and director of the nonprofit. The name—MarbleJam Kids—comes from the image of a jam jar of multi-colored marbles, all different, but together. The initiative developed after she was unable to find school-based after-care for her autistic daughter. “Rather than sue, I looked at arts after school for kids who need arts and social opportunities. Two other moms said they’d be involved, Sarah Melone and Jodi Uhl,” Anna says. Their first fundraiser was a $100-per-person breakfast to create the nonprofit MarbleJam Kids. In initiating MarbleJam, her determined attitude was “We are doing this. We had a nonprofit before we had a nonprofit. “It was a figment of my imagination, not thinking it would grow to this,” says

Anna. The 64-year old resident of Old Tappan stylishly wears another imaginative mark of the program’s success: a beautiful scarf draped around her neck. It is one of many scarves printed from students’ artwork. She shows a stunning leather purse called

A student’s artwork that was the design for the scarf Anna wears.

abilities as an administrator spring from her background as a dancer and collaborator on Jerome Robbins’ Broadway (credited as “Andi Tyler”) and in movie productions. At the MarbleJam website, you learn that, “In the large corporate arena, Anna co-developed and produced national and regional industrial shows for many companies including Johnson

“Vivid Universe” with a design taken from a melted-crayon work done by another student. “We can’t create typical people out of atypical people. We need to have more inclusion, more ways to help them, let them be heard, let them express themselves. Let’s be empathetic,” Anna says. The students and adults there are encouraged to act on their empathy. One

30 AUTUMN YEARS I WINTER 2023/24