It was a young boy’s question – “Will you be my daddy?” – that changed 18-year-old Johnny Jennings’ life.
Though he didn’t adopt the orphan, he decided to dedicate himself to supporting the children at the Georgia Baptist Children’s Home, where the boy lived.
Now, 60 years later, Jennings has received the Jefferson Award for Public Service for donating more than $300,000 to the home – all raised by collecting and recycling cardboard and aluminum cans.
Each month, the Chattanooga Times Free Press, First Tennessee and WRCB-TV select someone who gives back to the community to receive the local Jefferson Award.
“It’s just a joy to know that I can benefit from wasteful stuff and benefit the Children’s Home by sending them money,” said Jennings, a retired Combustion Engineering welder.
HOW TO NOMINATE* Visit www.timesfreepress.com or www.WRCBTV.com to fill out an online nomination form.* Pick up a nomination form at any First Tennessee Bank location and deliver, mail or fax to:Chattanooga Times Free PressP.O. Box 1447Chattanooga, TN 37401Fax: 423-668-5001 BY THE NUMBERS* $300,000: Amount Jennings has raised for the home since 1985* 8,012,295: Pounds of paper Jennings has recycled* $16,452: Donations Jennings has made in pennies* 11,393: Number of children served at the Georgia Baptist Children’s Home since 1993Source: Georgia Baptist Children’s Home, Shay Love, Johnny Jennings
For 25 years, Jennings, 79, has worked five days a week to collect paper, cardboard boxes and aluminum cans and cash them in at Chattanooga Recycle on Central Avenue.
At three or four trips per day from his home in Ringgold, Ga., 15 miles away, he has worn out three trucks and innumerable tires, Jennings said.
Shay Love, a friend of Jennings who nominated him for the award, said he makes an annual donation to the home on Mother’s Day. This year’s donation totaled more than $15,000.
“He is the most gentle, kind-hearted man,” Love said. “He’s always jolly. He always has a smile on his face. He is the most giving, nonselfish individual you will ever meet.
“We need more (like) Mr. Jennings. He sets the bar high for our generation.”
Fred Johnson, paper procurement manager at Chattanooga Recycle, said everyone at the center thinks Jennings is “a real fine man.”
The center gives him $3.75 for every 100 pounds of paper. Jennings averages 1,000 pounds each day, Johnson said.
“Several other people bring it in and put it in his name because they know what he’s doing,” Johnson said. “Everyone knows Mr. Jennings.”
It’s not just the children who benefit from Jennings’ donations. Every ton of paper he donates spares 17 trees, Jennings said. The Clean Air Council backs this data up.
Jennings furnishes the truck, manpower and gas for his recycling efforts. Several businesses, including two post offices, save their extra paper and undelivered mail for him to pick up.
Jennings and his wife, Gwen, are members of the Burning Bush Baptist Church in Ringgold, and say that their faith has driven them to help the children.
“My favorite thing is seeing how they are raised and their testimonies,” Jennings said. “This year there were 57 conversions of faith on the children’s home campus. That’s worth it all. It’s a blessing.”
ABOUT THE AWARDS
The Jefferson Awards were restarted locally in May by the Chattanooga Times Free Press, WRCB-TV and First Tennessee Bank.
Monthly award nominations will be taken until March 2011, when a local committee will select five honorees whose stories will be submitted to award officials in Washington, D.C. One of the award winners will be chosen to represent Chattanooga in the nation’s capital for the national Jefferson Awards banquet.
Since 1972, the awards have been presented on the local and national levels. Each year, a national winner is selected in four categories: Elected or public officials, private citizens, people benefiting the disadvantaged and individuals 35 or younger.
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