Championship wrestling coach Damon Parker knows what it's like to win on the mat, but he now knows winning isn't everything. He's spent the last 18 months fighting his own well-documented battles with mental health so he can help local students with theirs. He is helping students through the newly formed charitable nonprofit, The Jones Project. The goal of The Jones Project is to change how we talk about, treat and ultimately triumph over mental health issues, with a focus on the teen mental health crisis. The organization's goal is to bring a message of hope, help and healing to Kansas middle and high schools, organizations, and associations through inspirational and entertaining presentations. Parker serves as the organization's Executive Director. "Our country is in the midst of a mental health crisis, the likes of which we have never seen before," said Parker. "The mission of The Jones Project is to accelerate the destigmatization of mental health illnesses, with a primary focus on Kansas secondary students. It is the goal of The Jones Project to be the antidote." Beyond inspiration and understanding, The Jones Project aims to give students actionable steps on mental health and emotional regulation that helps people manage their mental health before it reaches "crisis mode." Through the organization’s fundraising efforts, The Jones Project is able to provide all programming to Kansas school districts and their students at no cost. “It was important to us to remove every barrier possible for schools, and for a lot of school districts, pricing is a big hurdle. So we’ve taken that one out of the way.”
It is Parker’s goal to speak to every secondary student in the state of Kansas in the next three years. “The kids in our smaller communities and in western Kansas both need and deserve this programming every bit as much as their counterparts in the larger 6A high schools,” Parker said. “Large schools, small schools, western, central, and eastern Kansas, it doesn’t matter. On a Monday we may end up talking to 21 awesome students at Hamilton High School, and the next day 2,100 of them in Derby. We are going to be road warriors, and we’re going to spread this message to everyone who needs it, regardless of the size or location of their school.”
For more information on The Jones Project, visit www.TheJonesProject.org.
About The Jones Project
Founded in June of 2022, The Jones Project brings a message of hope, help and healing to middle and high schools, organizations and associations. Based out of Topeka, KS, The Jones Project was founded with the help and vision of Cody Foster, co-founder of Advisors Excel, and was founded in memory of Josh Jones. The Jones Project helps those struggling with mental health illnesses through inspirational and entertaining presentations. The Jones Project is passionate about raising mental health awareness and funding the resources and research needed to help people thrive.
