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How We Started

JFR's founder and president, Dr. Keren Brown Wilson, was motivated to set up the foundation in the mid 1970s because of words spoken by her mother, Jessie F. Richardson (pictured at right). She asked her daughter, "Why don't you do something to help people like me?" At the time, Dr. Wilson was a graduate student in gerontology and her mother was a 60-year-old nursing home resident. Her mother's words directed the course of Dr. Wilson's professional work with frail, low-income elders.

JFR is funded by a private trust fund and the support of donors and services provided by volunteers. The President, Board of Directors and Advisory Council receive no compensation for their work. JFR is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.