Heart of Gold

pdf print email

Parthenia Jones-Johnson teaches the intrinsic value of community service.

The Organization

The Potts Trotters Running Club is a group that focuses on running and walking, sponsoring its own local race series, as well as providing volunteer support for larger scale events such as the Bolder Boulder. Proceeds from its five-race “Potts Trotters Series” benefit various local and national non-profits. The club also includes a community service program centered on volunteer work that allows young offenders to satisfy community service requirements as directed by juvenile courts. 

The Start

Pottts Trotters is the brainchild of Parthenia Jones-Johnson, otherwise known as “Potts.” Potts recognized the value of volunteer work early, while supporting her sister in marathons in the late ‘70s. The matching shirts of the volunteers caught the young Potts’ eye and she inquired as to what they were doing and why. She’s been an avid volunteer at running-related events ever since.

In 1991, she started the Potts Trotters to take her work to the next level. The community service outreach aspect of the Potts Trotters was inspired by her work as a Deputy Juvenile Marshal with the Aurora Municipal Court’s Probation Department. Potts saw a gap in opportunities for young offenders to complete community service requirements. Most programs set up for this purpose were not equipped to deal with juveniles. The Potts Trotters provides a meaningful community service opportunity for these young men and women.

What’s Cool About Your Job

The opportunity to make a difference is the coolest thing about Potts’ work. She’s made a significant impact in the community and in the nation through her volunteer efforts. Selected to carry the Olympic Torch in 2002 and the recipient of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award in 2005, Potts spends nearly all her free time volunteering. But it doesn’t stop there. Working with marginalized youth gives Potts the opportunity to extend her philosophy beyond the scope of what she would be able to accomplish as just one person. “I believe I make a difference in these kids,” she states.

Top Three Reasons You Like Your Job

Potts loves the magic that comes from getting kids outside of their normal frame of mind. She also likes the challenge in getting them to understand that community service is much more rewarding then just picking up trash for eight hours a day. She looks for applications of volunteer work that coincide with hobbies or interests, opening up new avenues for these young men and women. She proudly recounts the story of a young man in a gang who liked to dance. She selected volunteer work that would expose him to the arts, resulting in a $10K scholarship to the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble. Finally, the sweet satisfaction of having a kid come back and do volunteer work with the Potts Trotters, of his or her own accord, is the “best feeling in the world,” according to Potts. 

Comments & Feedback

Leave a Comment

Name: Email:  do not notifynotify Title: Comment: Code: Please input the code from the image above (case sensitive). Click image to generate new code.

3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."