A Lifetime of Giving Capped by Legacy
Long-time Foundation donor, Helen Jones, bequeaths $1M
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| Helen with her father Daniel |
Helen Jones established the Daniel Jones Fund in 1988 with $50,000 in memory of her father Daniel. For thirty years he was the president of the Strouse Adler Company, a New Haven based
manufacturer of women’s intimate apparel and undergarments. Her decision to create a fund was as much based on her fondness for her father as it was in recognition that “the needs of tomorrow might be quite different from those of today,” and a permanent fund at The Community Foundation could be used to meet those unforeseen needs as they emerged.
The Daniel Jones Fund became a designated fund for Columbus House at the time of Helen's death, per her wishes. An estimated $1M was also bequeathed by Helen establishing the Helen W. Jones Fund for general charitable purposes with a preference, “to be given to the care, support and succor of the poor and needy in the Greater New Haven area, including, without limitation, housing, food, medical and social needs and education and vocational training.” These were things that were important to Helen in life and they will now be supported forever through her fund.
The Daniel L. Jones Fund
Beyond being the President of the first corset manufacturer in the United States, Daniel L. Jones was a father who mentored his daughter in both business and philanthropy. He served as the first president of the Manufacturers Division of the New Haven Chamber of Commerce and was director of the Chamber for 10 years. He also served on the Board of the Union Trust Company (now Wells Fargo), a Trustee Bank of The Community Foundation, where Helen established the Daniel L. Jones Fund in her father’s memory.
Since it was created, the Fund has distributed nearly $145,000 in grants to various organizations including New Haven Home Recovery, Life Haven, Women’s Health Research at Yale, Planned Parenthood, Cornell Scott Hill Health Corporation and Columbus House.
“Helen had a heartfelt concern for people who are homeless,” says Alison Cunningham, the Executive Director of Columbus House, which provides shelter and housing to the homeless or people who are at risk of becoming homeless in Greater New Haven. “Every time we talked, she was very eager to hear about our work and was most interested in hearing stories about the people we helped. Helen wanted to understand how we were making a difference.”
She would be pleased to know how Columbus House has helped a young woman, Christine, turn her life around. Christine was referred to Columbus House’s Sojourner’s Place in 2009 by the Community Services Network. Sojourner’s Place provides supportive housing to women who are dealing with both addiction and mental health issues.
Christine wasn’t always homeless. She worked for an area hospital as a Dietary Aid for eighteen years then lost her job after getting involved with drugs. She also had an undiagnosed mental health disorder that affected her job performance. Due to these issues, Christine also lost the trust of her family who she depended on for love and support.
Employment Specialists at Columbus House assisted Christine in resume writing, interviewing skills and effective job searching techniques. While searching for permanent employment, she took part in the Work Fair Program. She was hired by the Columbus House maintenance department to perform custodial work and laundry for the main shelter and the Men’s Winter Overflow Shelter. She has been employed at an area hotel for several months now. Christine plans to search for her own place in the community and would like to further her education in order to move up in her position at the hotel.
The Helen W. Jones Fund
A native of New Jersey, Helen spent her grammar school years in Orange and moved to New Haven to attend Hillhouse High School in her teens. Upon graduation, Helen attended Mt. Holyoke College in M
A, where she participated in the choir, glee and outing clubs. She was also a librarian, Vice President of the International Relations club and Treasurer of the Economics club. After graduating with a degree in Economics, she worked for several years as the Personnel Director at the Associated Seed Growers Company then joined the Strouse Adler Company in 1947.
Settling in Milford, Helen was an active parishioner of the United Church on the Green in New Haven and past President of the Soroptimist Club of Greater New Haven, part of Soroptimist International, the world's largest classified service organization for executive and professional women.
Helen felt so strongly that women should develop their business skills that she made a substantial gift in 1989 to renovate the Career Development Center (CDC) at her alma mater. The gift was made in memory of her father. At the time, she remarked, “I feel that the many services offered by the CDC are important for the students and the alumnae, and for parents who invest in their daughter’s education. My father inspired people to work for him, and he helped them advance their careers. This included putting women in responsible positions.”
Women, like Helen herself. At Strouse Adler, Helen started first as the Public Relations Director, promoting the Smoothie, the first two-way stretch elastic corselet. During her tenure, she was an Advertising Manager, Vice President, Treasurer and Director.
“Helen believed very positively in the American Dream and in doing w
hat was necessary to build a strong foundation for a successful life. You could see this in her support for programs for the homeless and refugees. She was also a strong proponent for educating young women in business. We think of the latter as normal, now, but, several decades ago, it was not. In that way, Helen was very practical and forward-looking,” says Karen Clute, a partner at the law firm of Wiggin and Dana LLP and the Executor of the Jones estate.
Helen’s final act of generosity was leaving a bequest to create a fund bearing her name that will benefit Greater New Haven. Like Helen, you can establish a preference fund via bequest or during your lifetime to support future opportunities and respond to the community’s most pressing needs. Contact Angela Powers at apowers@cfgnh.org or call 203-777-7068 for more information.
A special thanks to Mt. Holyoke College for providing information for this article about Helen's accomplishments.
Read other articles in the Fall 2011 Community Currents Newsletter:
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