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, a Trustee Bank of The Community Foundation, where Helen established a donor advised fund in her father's memory and named it the Daniel L. Jones Fund.

Since it was created, the Fund has distributed over $238,000 in grants to various organizations including New Reach (formerly 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 former 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 young women like Christine, who was referred to Columbus House’s Sojourner’s Place 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 eventually found employment at an area hotel with an eye of furthering her education to move up the employment ladder.

Christine was a resident of Sojourner's Place for about two years. After losing her job and becoming homeless due to mental health and chemical dependency issues, her life was put back on track thanks to Columbus House and the support it receives from donors, like Helen Jones.