Feb 19, 2004

Volunteer of the Week: Jared Jones

Lending a helping hand has been a way of life for Jared Jones. The notion was instilled in him at a very young age by his grandfather, who always told him, "…If you're capable, and well west, it's always a good idea to give back to the community. We were always involved in Boy Scouts as kids, I guess it all started from there,” says Jones.

Jones is currently active at the South Valley YMCA, and has been a volunteer there since 1981. At the YMCA, Jones has spent many hours doing everything from wiring the building for Ethernet, installing PCs, training users, assisting maintenance staff, and helped with many tasks such as pouring concrete, building various objects and assembling storage sheds.

As a Y board member, Jones helps to raise money each year for the Current Support campaign. These scholarships help kids who can't afford to attend swim lessons, go to camp, or attend childcare.

Jones has served in various positions at the YMCA, such as a community support campaign chair, teams chair, major gifts chair, major gifts team captain, and division manager, raising about $100,000 for the Y over the past 20 years. He has personally donated nearly $50,000 to the YMCA since 1980.

Jones has donated tools, set up a maintenance shop, added a new facility door, and assisted with many construction and renovation projects. His latest project was working on a new office and conference room at the branch and building custom cabinets for the mailroom.

Jones, who says he loves to build, also builds houses for Habitat for Humanity. His first experience with the group was in 2002, and he enjoyed working with others that shared the same giving interests.

"My first effort with Habitat was a really enjoyable experience. I am looking forward to this year,” says Jones.

“Soon I'll be helping with the building of three homes in Santa Clara County."

He considers himself a community volunteer, since he still works and doesn't get a paycheck. Jones isn't in this lending effort alone, volunteering seems to run in the family. He and his three daughters were involved in Y-Guides, Y Trail Blazers and various camp programs. His wife of 34 years, Carol, a deputy district attorney with Santa Clara County, has spent many years volunteering for the Almaden Valley Soccer League.

The Jones family is passionate about volunteering, soccer, traveling and building. They worked at the World Cup at Stanford in 1994, and are season ticket holders to the San Jose Earthquakes and Cyber Rays.

They have traveled to five continents, and have hosted a pair of exchange students over the years from Sweden, Germany, Spain, Korea and Japan. They have completed a mass construction project on their house, doubling the square footage, and have done major landscaping projects on their large lot in Almaden, mostly do-it-yourself efforts.

“It has always been something I’ve enjoyed doing. I feel like I’m doing something really productive and constructive with my life, which is a good feeling,” says Jones.

Jones retired in the summer of 2001, having worked in the high tech industry for 33 years. His most recent position was as an engineering manager for Efficient Networks, a telecommunications company in Los Gatos. He has a BSEE from U.C. Berkley and has been in various software engineering positions at companies such as Cabletron, Control Data, Borland International, Grid Systems, Intuit, and Measures and Flow Point.

“My life has become so interesting. I have multi-million-dollar friends who call me and ask about what I do. Being a high tech charging executive gets tiring after a while, there just isn’t much reward in it. It’s obvious that they are looking for enrichment, and I tell them how wonderful it’s been for me,” says Jones.

The South Valley YMCA recognized Jared’s efforts in 2002 when he received Volunteer of the Year.

—By Miranda Schultz