Getting access to funds for college tuition can be a hassle for students; and many depend solely upon financial aid from the government in order to attend college. Although grants and scholarships are available, they are limited and are not always enough to cover tuition and fees. With the cost of attendance increasing yearly, it is becoming even more difficult for students to attend school without the outstanding balances hanging over their heads. It is important that students are aware of every financial resource accessible to them and that the burdens of getting money for school are alleviated; thus, The Dallas-Jones Dream Scholarship was created.
Two students at Texas Southern University by the names of Aaron Dallas and Kernard Jones wanted to do something impactful on their college campus that would give hope to those on financial aid. In an effort to do so; they came up with an idea that they felt was so far-fetched that it might actually work; and it did!
Aaron and Kernard founded The Dallas-Jones Dream Scholarship.
Aaron Dallas is an Honors College Junior; Business Marketing major. He grew up in Cypress, Texas and has a strong passion for ministry and bringing out the best in everyone.
Kernard Jones is a Houston, Texas native. He is a sophomore; Political Science major and has a strong passion for public service and helping rebuild communities.
After coming up with an outline for the scholarship, Aaron and Kernard reached out to Assistant Vice President for Development, LaRence Snowden at TSU to get the scholarship up and running. “He helped us set up everything we needed to make the scholarship a success and to store all of our donations,” said Dallas. Their initial goal was $2,400 but exceeds that amount with the help of others and raised $2,989. “A majority of the money we raised came from alumni community leaders, church leaders, businesses leaders, family, and friends.” This left money to start a second scholarship fund for the upcoming semester, called “What’s Your Plan?”
The Dallas-Jones Dream Scholarship was launched in January 2017 and opened to all incoming TSU freshmen. Since then, six incredible students have been awarded scholarships. March 2017 two students were awarded the What’s Your Plan? Scholarship, Darryl Gardner received a $100 scholarship and Kaleb Taylor received a $600 scholarship.
Left: Darryl Gardner, Middle: Aaron Dallas (founder) Right Kaleb Taylor
During TSU’s 2016 homecoming celebration both Aaron and Kernard spent their time raising awareness about the scholarship fund. They walked around for three to four hours a day speaking to alumni, over 200 to be exact; in order to raise awareness and funds to help other students with college tuition. So it’s clear that these two are not scared to hit the pavement for the greater good!
Dallas and Jones plan to continue this scholarship after they have graduated from Texas Southern University. “We are continuing our efforts and are looking to raise $10,000 for the 2017-2018 Academic School Year.” If you would like to donate to the scholarship fund, you can follow this link: https://tsu.thankyou4caring.org/the-dallas-jones-dream-scholarship-fund . “The money that is donated goes to the Texas Southern University Development Office Bank Account to financially assist TSU students with tuition, fees, books, supplies or other personal financial expenses. All proceeds, 100% of every donation, is for the sole purpose of the scholarship fund. Any amount of monetary donation is welcome,” said Jones.
We are so proud of the hard work that these two young men are putting in to insure that their peers have the opportunity to receive scholarships that will fund several college educations. Congratulations to all of the recipients of The Dallas-Jones Dream Scholarship and the What’s Your Plan? Scholarship. We salute you all for your hard work and achievements!
theurbangetdown.com 
Leave a Reply