I am very excited to finally reveal the winners of my first Jenny’s Heroes ?? CANADA grants. It was supposed to be one grant of $25,000 but we got so many more applications than expected, that I doubled the amount to $50,000 this time. The extra $25,000 allowed us to spread the aid to several smaller fire departments as well. The applications were carefully reviewed by a qualified panel in Canada and by me as well, and each winner is listed below when you scroll down. Feel free to send them your congratulations and messages of support through the Comments link. Here we go!
The winner of the first Jenny’s Heroes 🇨🇦 Canada grant will be announced on Tuesday, October 9th. It’s taking a little longer due to the overwhelming response – over 100 applications! Each application has been reviewed by a qualified panel of 4 people in Canada and I also reviewed every single one. Between all of us, we have finally agreed on where the first grant should go. I can hardly wait to share the news!
Here is the place I grew up. The beautiful province of Ontario, Canada is one of ten provinces and three territories that make up the country and of course, Ontario is the best one! 🇨🇦 Of the 2 million beautiful lakes in Canada, 250,000 are in Ontario, along with moose, elk, timber wolves, bears, caribou and more, especially farther north. All of this land and wild life is vulnerable to fires and there are hundreds of teams of volunteer firefighters all over Ontario ready to jump in during an emergency. Whether it be a fire or a highway crash, water or ice rescues, or any medical emergency, volunteer firefighters are on it. I respect their commitment to their communities and the risks they are willing to take.
My offer of providing equipment to these brave firefighters is underway and applications are coming in (a lot more than I expected) and being reviewed by a team of professionals in Canada and myself here in the U.S.. Requests have come in from as far south as Windsor (close to my hometown of London), east almost to Ottawa, our capital, west to the border of Manitoba, and as far north and remote as Red Lake, Ear Falls, and Moonbeam.
Their needs cover a broad range of equipment from rescue craft to safety boots to new flashlights — it’s clear that help is needed. That’s why I’m here and I plan to continue this grant program as long as the needs are there. More details are coming soon.
I have a profound respect for anyone who chooses a life of service to their community and even more so when the risks are great. That’s why I am offering grants up to $25,000 to support the small volunteer fire departments in Ontario, the province where I grew up. Not knowing where to start, I contacted the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs last month and got a warm reception from Executive Director Richard Boyes while I shared with him my desire to help, and he in turn provided a lot of helpful information about the needs of Ontario’s volunteer firefighters. I knew this was going to be good.
Mr. Boyes put me in touch with Michelle O’Hara (the one who did all the work!). She is the Business Development and Operations Manager for the OAFC and she worked tirelessly on putting this grant program together, addressing every tiny detail, sharing emails with me throughout, and now only one month later, we have a grant program!
We decided to call it “Jenny’s Heroes 🇨🇦 Canada” because anyone who chooses to help their fellow citizens is a hero and I love Canada and want to help where help might be needed. Simply put, these grants are for the purchase of equipment to support and keep safe the volunteer firefighters who serve in Ontario. For more on my new philanthropic venture click here.
By the way, I am very familiar with the beautiful province of Ontario. In the early 1960s when I was still a teenager, I played drums in a band and toured all over Ontario from my hometown of London all the way up to Kirkland Lake, Timmins, and Kapuskasing. In fact, I found a newspaper clipping of my first band, the JAD Trio playing in Kirkland Lake in 1965…
My career in show business began in Ontario in 1960s and took me all the way to the Jenny Jones Show, which was nationally syndicated from 1990 to 2003. I got lucky and now I want to give back.
Now here is some information about Jenny’s Heroes U.S. where everyday people spent my donations to benefit their communities and even THEY wanted to support their firefighters and first responders. Here are just a few of the gifts that were given:
Jaws of Lifedonated to the Wolf Creek All Volunteer Fire Department, Wolf Creek, Oregon
400 High Visibity Safety Vests + 28 Sets of Battery Operated Turbo Flares donated to Clark County Emergency Responders, Greenwood, Wisconsin
Fully Equipped Dodge Charger Police Cardonated to the Ludwiki Police Department, Hinesville, Geogia
Narcotics Tracking Dog donated to the Charles City Police Department, Charles City, Iowa
Thermal Imaging Camera, Jaws of Life Pump, Rescue Saw, Deck Gun, and AR-FFF-Foam donated to the Turkey Creek Volunteer Fire Department, Turkey Creek, Kentucky
4-Wheel Drive Patrol Vehicle donated to the Gillette College Campus Police in Gillette, Wyoming
Telescoping Pole Trimmer Sawsdonated to Middlesex Taylor Township Volunteer Fire Department, Johnstown, Pennsylvania
For more on “Jenny’s Heroes 🇨🇦 Canada,” click here.
For more on Ontario Fire Services Equipment Grant, please visit the OAFC website.
This is what I love to do the most. Sharing my good fortune with others is so rewarding and this month I was able to support some good people who are helping those often forgotten. The Anti-Recidivism Coalition in Southern California helps people coming out of prison to get their life back on track. They needed two vans to transport residents to and from their housing programs where they provide support with education and career opportunities. I bought the vans and they are already in use:
One of the life skills they teach at the housing programs is cooking and they needed new kitchen equipment. You know I was happy to provide that as well. Lots of it.
Learning to cook will not only keep them healthy, it can also lead to a great career. I like to think that someone who was driven in these trucks and who learned to cook using these tools, will become a productive citizen with a good job, maybe as a cook, maybe even using my recipes!
Celebrity and philanthropist Jenny Jones loved her sister. And her sister, Liz Rankin, loved My Sisters’ Place.
So it was appropriate that when her sister died, Jones decided to donate $50,000 to the London women’s shelter. And it was appropriate the donation be announced among dozens of women there Wednesday.
This plaque will hang at My Sister’s Place in appreciation of a $50,000 donation from Jenny Jones in memory of her sister, Liz Rankin. (DEREK RUTTAN, The London Free Press)
“It was very close to her, what they do here,” said Andrea VanderWeide, who’s Rankin’s daughter and Jones’s niece. “My mom had mentioned to my aunt many times that this was a charity that meant something to her. My aunt is pretty shook up. She wanted to honour my mom’s memory.”
The Jones family grew up in London, with the matriarch the original Sophie of Sophie’s Gown Shoppe, where growing up, Jenny and her sister, Liz, would pose in the windows as models and help with the sewing. Jenny Jones became a household name, hosting her own talk show from 1990 to 2003, and a generous, behind-the- scenes contributor to many causes.
Liz Rankin became a loyal employee at Drewlo Holdings in London, retiring only a few years ago. She died suddenly May 7, 2017, at 73. “My mom was a strong, independent woman,” VanderWeide said. “If there is anything that stands out about my mom, in the memory of anyone who ever met her, it would be her desire to help. She knows somewhere that she is still helping.”
Not long after Rankin’s death, My Sisters’ Place received a phone call from someone who said she was Jenny Jones, director Susan Macphail recalled. “I said, is that the Jenny Jones? She called because she had just suffered a heartbreak. Her beloved sister had passed away.” Jones spoke about her love of her sister and her support of women helping women, Macphail said. Jones wasn’t able to attend Wednesday’s announcement.
The shelter decided to put the money toward several women’s empowerment programs, including a theatre group, financial literacy sessions, peer support and self-compassion groups, which don’t have regular funding.
“It’s always bittersweet when we receive a gift that is in memory of someone,” said Beth Mitchell, chief executive of Canadian Mental Health Association Middlesex, which operates My Sisters’ Place. “We know it represents a loss for the family and the community. On the other hand, we hope that this legacy brings some comfort. Certainly, for us it brings us much joy and we know it will be used well.”
Two women who use My Sisters’ Place spoke Wednesday about the impact of the organization on their lives. “Before I found My Sisters’ Place, I was homeless, addicted and suffering from severe mental health issues,” Beth said. “With the help of My Sisters’ Place, I am housed, happily married, no longer addicted and my mental health is in check.”
Just coming each day and seeing women who want to help changes lives, Patricia said. “It gives us a sense of hope, coming in and seeing friends and people just gathered around.”
The new playground is finally open! There were hundreds of excited children, just waiting for us to cut the ribbon and then wow! They ALL ran past us to play! That was the moment I had dreamed about but seeing it in person was even better than I imagined.
They played on every single new piece of equipment, climbing, spinning, hanging upside down, and all I could hear was the sound of pure joy. This new play area is now the largest fully accessible playground in the city.
The triple slide seemed to be a big hit with the little ones, especially when they land on the new soft rubber safety surface.
It was hard to count but it looked like at least 300 kids ran on to play and we had about 1,000 people who came for the opening. It was so much fun, with free snow cones, cupcakes, and face-painting. Here’s a little girl who stopped to thank me for the new playground.
I simply can’t put into words how rewarding this was for me and the joy that I felt seeing this playground in person. It took a team of people from the city who worked for almost a year to make it happen and my gratitude goes out to every one on the team. I appreciate how many people turned out for the opening on a beautiful, but hot, sunny day. Most importantly, I got the share this day with the person whose idea and vision made this all possible, my London Hometown Hero, Shelah Brook. Welcome to “Shelah’s Place.”
Kids in London are counting the days until the new playground is open and it’s almost ready. The colors are just as fun and bright as I imagined. And the number of things to do will be awesome. I love the triple slide!
Next, they’ll be installing the rubber safety surfacing and I’m especially happy that this new playground will be handicapped accessible. I can’t wait to see it in person!
They finally started working on the new playground in my hometown of London, Ontario. This week they are installing the handicapped accessible equipment. Then next week the entire area gets covered with rubber safety surfacing. After that, some last minute work, and then the grand opening in Springbank Park.
This is the park where I used to play growing up. My sister and I couldn’t wait to get on the swings and teeter totter and we loved the little round wading pool. Springbank Park is a beautiful place that sits alongside the Thames River. Yes, both London, Ontario and London, England have a Thames River.
I have only seen pictures of what’s to come and I can’t wait until it’s actually there. The grand opening is coming soon!
CANADA
CALIFORNIA
U.S.A.
