Deric Rollins 12/31/25 Deric Rollins 12/31/25

Holiday Initiative 2025

In December we wanted to spread some holiday cheer to people in the sickle cell community. Jared, our namesake, spent time in the hospital around this time and I personally saw how hard it was for him to be away from family and friends. This is a time of year to look forward to, but for those with illness, the sleepless nights spent anticipating gifts may be swapped for sleepless nights in anticipation of the next needle.

We worked with the Maria Ferrari hospital to spread the word about our mission for late December — provide a gift (of up to $50) to self identified sickle cell warriors.

In addition to the gift, we wanted to provide a copy of “Mothering the Crescent Moons” by Tyrene Gibson. This book chronicles the journey of Tyrene and her daughter, Aya, who had sickle cell (and is now cured!).

The gifts were handed off in person, and the books will be delivered by January.

This year we gave a total of 4 recipients, and we look forward to scaling our efforts in 2026.

Deric Rollins 9/22/25 Deric Rollins 9/22/25

Yorktown Stage Theater Camp 2025

From left to right: Amy Gasparini (Teagan’s aunt), Teagan McPherson (winner), and Miles Harvey (actor)

This year, the Michael Jared Rollins-Jones Foundation awarded two children with a chance to attend the Yorktown Stage Theater Camp! For the second year, we partnered with the camp in order to find youths who displayed Jared’s passion for theater.

We understand how hard the added expenses of extra curricular activities can be on families. Removing financial barriers that can stifle budding passions is part of our goal with this initiative, and we look forward to expanding our reach in 2026!

Our winners:

Teagan McPherson

Lilliana Dratch

Deric Rollins 1/30/25 Deric Rollins 1/30/25

Yorktown Stage Theater Camp 2024

Learn more about our first major initiative!

Last year, the Michael Jared Rollins-Jones Foundation announced that we’d award 6 weeks of Yorktown Stage’s theater camp to a qualifying applicant.

Theater played a significant role in Jared’s life, and we acknowledge the difficulty and importance of balancing the mental demands of the performing arts with hardship. Through our application process, we sought children who have a love for the stage, despite an obstacle (financial, physical, etc.) they face in their personal lives.

For the Summer 2024 cycle, we were happy to provide not one, but TWO awards to exceptional youths.

Winners:

Leila Charla

Nicole LaRotonda