Discovery Center, Special Kids, Boys & Girls Club, Read To Succeed, City & County School Systems, and MTSU. Besides caring for and educating our children: what do they have in common? For over 25 years the Jennings & Rebecca Jones Foundation has supported educational endeavors in Rutherford County and this year, these organizations have been chosen to continue the Foundation work. Almost $200,000 in total grants has been invested this year in these, and other, well deserving institutions.
Family member, Board Officer, and past managing director of the Jones Foundation, Paul Vaughan, is quick to specify. “Our Foundation likes to invest in leaders. Although we do have organizations that we tend to funnel our grants through, we look for trailblazers. These leaders standout as true stars in our community and are willing to create exceptional programming in Rutherford County. Leaders who know how to manage money, leverage community resources, and have great ideas that they can fashion into action.”
This year the Jones Foundation began a new project with Murfreesboro City Schools to create a Reading Clinic four afternoons/per week for students from Mitchell-Nelson. Dr. Caresa Brooks, Coordinator of Reading/Instructional Interventions is one such star. Bringing her enthusiasm, organization, and commitment together with great training and experience, Dr. Brooks had the vision to create a place where trained teachers could work in small groups and one-to-one with students in need of literacy support. Results of their first semester of work have Murfreesboro City School personnel and Jones Foundation staff planning for expansion to other schools in 2013.
Jones Foundation executive director, Ronni Shaw, notes that ferreting out new projects in which the Jones Board could consider investing, is a highlight of her responsibilities. “As soon as I met Dr. Brooks, the idea for a Reading Clinic that Dr. Gilbert (City School Director) had pitched, came in to focus. Caresa knows how to help children and their teachers succeed. Her energy and sincerity gave me the confidence I needed to suggest her project for Jones Foundation investment. Once I saw the kids happily working at the Clinic, after a full-day at school, and the increased reading scores from the spring semester’s Clinic, I knew we should talk about growing this project to more schools.”
2012 Jennings & Rebecca Jones Foundation investments include support of 2 programs at MTSU, 5 at Rutherford County Schools, 3 at Murfreesboro City Schools, the Chamber of Commerce Business Education Partnership, Murfreesboro Youth Orchestra, Read To Succeed, Boys & Girls Club, Special Kids, and Discovery Center. For more information contact ronnishaw@comcast.net.
