J.P. Hall Children’s Charities awards more than $10,000 in scholarship money

Jesse Hollett

ORANGE PARK – Students entering college are master jugglers.

In their right hand, fear, anxiety and other agents of the endless unknowns of life after high school. In their left hand, curiosity, tenacity and other virtues that open paths to the eventual graduation hat toss. Jeffery Gainer's hands are occupied now though, as he hugs the woman whose signature appears at the bottom of a scholarship he received May 19.

It's a familiar last name to the 252 Clay County students who have benefitted from the J.P. Hall Children's Charities fund. Last Thursday, however, the fund added 11 new names to the list of kids who, otherwise, might never have gone to college.

The charity has presented more than $422,000 in scholarships to underserved children since J.P. Hall Jr. founded it in the late 1970s. Four decades later, Virginia Hall now carries her father's torch, the legacy left behind to provide a path to education for those willing to work for it. Kids such as Gainer.

"We have some amazing, amazing young people," Hall told the guests at the awards celebration at the Thrasher-Horne Conference Center. "I'm blessed to have been a part of this and I want to continue to help and be a part of this. So I say thank you."

Gainer intends to use the $2,000 he received from the charity to pursue a nursing degree at the University of North Florida.

Of course, college isn't cheap. UNF also requires that a student's freshman year be spent on campus, and that's not cheap either.

UNF's average cost for its first year starts around $16,000. To that figure, $2,000 is only a drop in a much larger ocean. Gainer isn't deterred, however and intends to continue his education and become a nurse practitioner.

"I would have tried to my best to go to college and pay for it with loans, but I feel like without the scholarship it would have been really difficult," Gainer said.

There's some fear for the transition. His graduation is right around the corner and his first semester starts soon after. Gainer isn't as worried about the workload, however. He cites his already full plate for that.

Gainer, 18, has a daily schedule that would make even the most wizened senator's head spin. His days are swallowed by his constant commitment to school, his job at Sears, Beta Club, track and cross country meets and the healthcare academy at Orange Park High.

"I'm definitely a workaholic," Gainer said. "I have a lot on my plate I would say. I wouldn't say I possibly over filled by plate, it could sometimes be overwhelming, but I push myself so I know how to work around it.

Gainer's claim to be a workaholic should come to no surprise to his friends. Until senior year, they were thoroughly convinced that he was anti-social because of his reluctance to even spend time with them and instead focus on clubs, commitments and his career path.

Gainer subscribes to the maxim of 'all work and no play,' however, so in the crumbs of time he has left in the day, he relaxes and watches reality television.

Last Thursday's scholarship ceremony speeches presented from the other charity board members emphasized inspiration and determination, vital virtues to be kept in any aspiring college student's back pocket.

"Go for the dream," said Clay County Commissioner Ronnie Robinson. "If you want to be an astronaut, be an astronaut. If you wanna' climb a mountain, climb a mountain. Do what God calls you to do, while not looking back or slowing down."

Gainer's biggest inspiration comes from his parents. His experiences have shaped him into the person he is today. When his father got in a wreck during his freshmen year, he was in and out of the hospital. It was there, Gainer said, that he realized he first wanted to be a nurse.

"I like to see how nice the nurses and the doctors are," Gainer said. "It inspired me to try and help someone else out, so whenever they're in hard times they can feel good."

That was four years ago. His father escaped with only a slash-shaped scar on his head and some broken ribs that, while they still cause him trouble, are preferable to what could have happened that day.

Gainer will be the first family member to successfully complete college. His father and mother started college, but were never able to finish due to financial troubles.

"That sort of inspired me to apply for my scholarships, because it really put it into perspective – if I don't get it together, it won't happen," Gainer said.

With all of the combined horsepower of Gainer's family pushing him along, he said he calculates his chances of getting his nursing degree to about "100 percent," and has all the certainty of the world in his hands, it seems.

"I know when I push myself I can do anything," Gainer said. "I know this is the job I want to do. There's nothing else I would even want to do."

Source: J.P. Hall Children's Charities awards more than $10,000 in scholarship money