By Loralyn Cecil
CHS Philanthropy Director

On Thursday, the University will again celebrate One Day for UK (onedayforuk.com), a targeted campaign to drive gifts to programs and entities across campus.

For the first time ever, the College of Health Sciences will devote all of our gifts to one cause — the Grace Jones Memorial Fund.

So — why should you help?
 

1. The need is significant.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, one in three Kentuckians over the age of 18 is living with a disability. Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability and it can happen to anyone.

Grace Jones, an internationally recognized researcher and UK Professor in Molecular and Cellular Biology, had a severe stroke in 2000. Despite disabilities caused by the stroke, she continued her teaching and research which included receiving a patent in 2007. Out of admiration and love her husband, Davy Jones, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Toxicology, created the Grace Jones Fund at UK to help Kentuckians with disabilities and their caregivers.  
 

2. UK is helping to build wheelchair ramps, put new wheels on wheelchairs, adapt homes, and fund adult daycare. This is real help for real people.

The Grace Jones Memorial Fund at the UK College of Health Sciences helps persons with physical/stroke disability and their families. Funds can be used to pay for adult day care, medical equipment, therapy services (such as PT, OT, or Speech), transportation costs related to attending disability support services, short-term respite care, program development, education, assistive technology and marketing. The Kentucky Appalachian Rural Rehabilitation Network, a collaborative team that advocates to empower communities impacted by disability and is directed by the UK College of Health Sciences, has the privilege of helping to oversee this fund.
 

3. UK understands the need for caregivers to help themselves, an act that helps caregivers help others.

A caregiver in Eastern Kentucky who received a grant from the Grace Jones Fund said, “As a spouse whose husband is living with paralysis and no family around, it makes me realize that I am only a small person to care for him, although I have to manage time and energy to provide resources for us.

Resources and opportunities such as the Grace Jones Memorial Fund are truly appreciated.”
 

4. UK welcomes everyone to join in helping persons with physical/stroke disability and their families.

Dr. Davy Jones has offered to match gifts two to one. If you give a gift of $20, for example, during One Day for UK, Dr. Jones will give $40. That adds a total of $60 to the amount of money the Grace Jones Fund has to help families impacted by disability.

Please consider using this opportunity to participate in One Day for UK and simultaneously help Kentuckians.
To make a gift, visit this site. 

Make One Day for UK Your Day to Help Kentuckians:

https://uky.networkforgood.com/causes/15874-grace-jones-fund