MILWAUKEE – “Do something nice for somebody else. Even if it’s picking up a piece of trash.”
That’s the message that Vurgess Jones spoke to students at Audubon Middle and High School.
Vurgess is the mother of Green Bay Packers star running back Aaron Jones. They were both in attendance presenting local kids with custom Adidas sneakers, courtesy of the A&A All The Way Foundation.
For every rushing yard Jones collected in 2022, he donated a pair of shoes. A total of 1,025 pairs will be distributed throughout the state of Wisconsin this summer.
“When you run a campaign like this, I am going on the field and I am telling you guys, from day one, I am not just playing for myself, I am playing for the community as well,” Jones said of the initiative. “You get to see some of the people that your affecting, meet them, and see the smiles that you put on their faces and it’s just big.”
While the NFL veteran happily answered questions about his football journey, selfies and of course his former quarterback, the family also made sure that every student was aware of the importance of education and receiving good grades on their report cards.
“Athletes, when they get up in front of kids, they don’t necessarily talk about school, but that’s where it starts,” Jones added. “I just want to always advocate that school is very important. To get to where you want to go, you have to go to school.”
Jones expressed that he only had three division-one offers coming out of high school, and it’s frustrating to see student-athletes with immense talent not be able to accept scholarships because of grades and eligibility.
Vurgess, who brought special prizes for students with a 4.0 grade point average, told the kids that she and her late husband, Alvin Jones Sr., would “bench” their sons from sports if they brought home less than a ‘B.’
“Mom did you have to bench me for grades?” he asked, smiling. “No, that was your brother,” she replied.
“B’s were acceptable for me,” Jones recalled. “But for my brother, not so much, because he didn’t have to study for a test and he could go and get 100 and I would study and I would get a ‘B.
“Now it’s so common that athletes have to go to (Junior College) or smaller schools when they have d-1 offers but they’re not qualifying.”
The event concluded with all 85 students in attendance walking on stage to shake hands and meet Vurgess and Aaron Jones, all receiving a pair of shoes, and custom socks courtesy of Cousins Subs.
“Aaron Jones is the epitome of what an athlete in a community can do to give back,” said Justin McCoy, Vice President of Marketing for Cousins Subs.
This is the third year of the Shoes for Yards campaign, and Jones doesn’t intend for it to conclude any time soon.
“Treat people how you want to be treated,” he said. “A simple hello. You never know what people are going through.”