David Jones bolsters a school district in need
Dave Jones first earned a B.S. in business administration and then a M.A. in economics at The Ohio State University. He taught at Ohio State, as well as Kenyon College, and is now President of Clifftop Financial Partners. But before he was an economist, Ohio State alum or donor of the Tom Jackson Memorial Scholarship, Dave was a high school student in Youngstown, Ohio.
"Tom Jackson was my neighbor and best friend growing up in Youngstown" said Dave. Tom and Dave both loved sports and took pride in their hometown and high schools. Dave attended South High, while Tom was enrolled at Cardinal Mooney High School. The two kept in contact over the next few decades though, until in 1997 when Tom died of a brain tumor at the young age of 51.
"Because of this and due to the major economic challenges facing residents of Youngstown, it seemed appropriate to link [the Tom Jackson Memorial] scholarship to graduates of city schools," explained David.
Youngstown City school district, where Dave grew up in the 50’s and 60’s, received an “F” for its 2014 four-year graduation rate on its Ohio School District report card. In the city, 36.5% of people lived below the poverty line in 2008-2012.
"My hope is to get to a point where other people from Youngstown create scholarships for graduates of the city’s schools," Dave said, "Ultimately, it would be wonderful to see students choosing to go to high school in Youngstown because of the availability of OSU scholarship money."
Dave has another philanthropic passion, research for Parkinson’s disease. He is forming a Buckeye Team for the Parkinson’s Unity Walk in New York City in April 2015. With 100% of donations benefiting Parkinson’s disease research, Dave hopes to raise enough money for the Buckeye Team to be the top new group in 2015. If you are interested in donating or walking for the cause, please contact Dave at de_jones@earthlink.net .
To learn how you can help students in your hometown, please contact Leslie Kreinberg at 614-247-6600 or by email at kreinberg.3@osu.edu
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