On June 22, Jacksonville residents, Herstle and Kelly Jones, founders of Jones & Associates Premier Financial Solutions, awarded Miranda Gillaspie with a gift of paying her mortgage for the next 12 months—the gift was a part of the firm’s annual Jones Cares program.
At the time, Miranda Gillaspie was a stranger to the Jones family—they met for the first time during the surprise ceremony held at the Rogue Valley Country Club. The Jones’ heard about Miranda’s story when they reached out to the Rogue Valley community in late 2020 to find deserving families in need of a hand up. Through public service announcements, they received over 80 applications into their Jones Cares Community Outreach Program. After a detailed selection process, Miranda’s family was selected to receive the Jones’ generous gift of 12 months of mortgage payments. “Our community has supported the growth of our business in the Rogue Valley, so we could not be more excited to have this opportunity to give back to our community, specifically a deserving family like Miranda’s,” said Herstle Jones.
Last spring, as Miranda (a health teacher at a local high school) was trying to navigate online schooling for her students due to the COVID shutdown, she discovered that she had breast cancer. She started her fight silently, never letting her students know. She spent her time and energy trying to make the spring the best she could for her graduating seniors and her two young girls. Since her diagnosis, she’s gone through both radiation and chemotherapy treatments as well as a double mastectomy all while trying to navigate being a teacher and single mom during the pandemic.
Jones Cares presented the gift in partnership with the Gradient Gives Back Foundation, LLC, a nonprofit organization that devotes its resources to assisting Americans in need.
Featured image – l-r: Nick Jones, award winner Miranda Gillaspie, Taela, age 9 and Maia Age 7, and Kelly Jones