As we reported a few months ago, Jacksonville residents Herstle and Kelly Jones, owners of Jones & Associates Premier Financial Solutions, planned to surprise a lucky recipient with 12 months of mortgage payments as part of their annual Jones Cares program. The annual gifting is at the core of the firm’s mission to give back to the community. After a lengthy application, interview and selection process, the Jones’ awarded the annual gift to Savannah and Charles Bamber on January 24, 2020 at their West Main office.

At the start of the presentation, the Bamber’s were strangers to Kelly and Herstle until the actual ceremony when they met for the first time. The Jones’ heard Bamber’s story when they reached out to the Rogue Valley community in late 2019 to find deserving families in need of a hand up. Through public service announcements, they received over 70 applications for their Jones Cares Community Outreach Program. Herstle noted, “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 the deserving Bamber family.”

During the interview process, Kelly and Herstle learned that Savannah, 24, has struggled with kidney disease all her life and that it never slowed her down! She works as a Medical Assistant at Providence Hospital and has received the hospital’s “Spirit Mission Award” for her work serving others. She is described by her coworkers as a leader in the clinic who provides incredibly compassionate care for those she serves.

As the Jones’ also learned, Savannah’s kidney disease recently made it impossible for her to keep up. She’s had 13 surgeries since being on dialysis and received a successful kidney transplant from her mother last November.

Thanks to her mother’s care and generosity, Savannah hopes she has overcome her kidney disease once and for all. However, her kidney disease has been accompanied by exorbitant medical expenses, which have been difficult for Savannah to pay as she has had to take three to six months off work to recover from her transplant surgery. Thanks to Herstle and Kelly’s donation, Savannah will be able to stay on top of her medical expenses while recovering and give her time to heal without financial stress and anxiety.