'When you’re blessed, you return the favor': The Packers' Aaron Jones finds his greatest joy is giving

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GREEN BAY – The tackle bent Aaron Jones backward and injured him too. This was midseason, another loss on the road, the seams of the season starting to unravel, and Jones felt the pain reverberate throughout his body while his teammates pleaded for a penalty flag that would never fly. The running back staggered to his feet on an ankle that would soon require a walking boot, and uncharacteristically bypassed the emotions of frustration right to fury.

“Cussing and cursing at the refs,” he said, softly.

Normal, acceptable, to you and me, maybe. But this is Aaron Jones, sunshine in a Sombrero. So 15 seconds later, with everyone else on the field back to thinking of ways to destroy one another, Jones approached the referee:

“Excuse me, ref, I want to apologize to you. I understand people miss calls; you’re human. But I apologize.”

To which the ref said, erm, thanks...? And probably wondered if he had also been knocked out on the play. Because how often do you hear something like this from anyone?

“I told him I was 100% wrong,” Jones said. “It hit me: I’m this team’s Walter Payton guy, also this team’s sportsmanship guy. It wasn’t OK. You don’t treat people like that, because I wouldn’t want to be treated like that. It’s part of being a man and owning up to when you are wrong. You’ve got to be man enough to do that.”

Man of the Year, in fact.

Aaron Jones' family has a history of helping

As the Green Bay Packers play a Christmas Day game in Miami, during a holiday season that some people search for strength and peace in faith and hope, the Packers running back is a nominee for two big NFL awards:

The Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award. Again.

And.

The Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. Again!

Jones calls them the "MVPs of off-the-field" awards. But there’s so much more to him than giving out 300 Thanksgiving turkeys. He's a guy who can’t carry a wallet, from a family that can’t stop caring about people, and the son of a father who hoped for all of this just before he died.

The Jones family has always been service oriented. Jones’ mom and dad, Vurgess and Alvin Jones Sr., spent their entire careers in the U.S. Army and raised Aaron, his twin brother; Alvin Jr.; older brother, Xavier; and sister, Chelsirae, to look out for others, whether they were living in Germany, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia or El Paso.

“Our family started volunteering in 1998,” Vurgess said by text message as she is recovering from a cold. “Everything we did, we did as a family.”

Aaron was only 4 years old when he did a charitable 5K fun run and walk with his dad and a few of his friends from Germany. Jones took first place in the kids division (of course).

But his first real strong memory of helping others was as early as 10 or 11 years old, when the family moved to Texas and served Thanksgiving meals at the El Paso Convention Center. How many pre-teens would find this ... lit? But Aaron dished up food on the serving line and bused tables with tray in hand, eyes wide open.

“Seeing how happy people were, just to have a warm plate of food,” Jones said.

“Life works better when you work as a team, whether it's your family or your friends or your resources. When my parents put me in an environment like that, you start to learn not to take things for granted. You have those conversations with your parents and they say, ‘this is why we brought you here. You’re blessed. And when you’re blessed, you return the favor.’”

Kids hold a special place in the Jones brothers' hearts

The service grew, starting with the twins coaching Special Olympics basketball and track while in high school.

A decade later, at 28, this is just a short list of what Jones has also done, in addition to averaging 5.1 yards per carry in six years with Green Bay and totaling 5,100 rushing yards:

Packers’ Salute to Service,  sending videos to veterans, speaking to youth at military academies.

Huddle for Heroes, visiting service members in the hospital and military bases.

Boys & Girls Club, both in Green Bay and in Milwaukee.

Football camps during the offseason in El Paso and Wisconsin.

Visits to children in the hospital or those who are facing health issues, whether in person or over video chat.

My Cause My Cleats campaign.

There’s so much more, that the family created the A&A All the Way Foundation (named for Aaron and Alvin Jr.) in 2020, with the family pitching in to work for the the nonprofit. Players Philanthropy Fund handles all the nonprofit compliance and finances, and the reputable Capture Sports & Entertainment handles the events and publicity.

The Rooney Award is given to the NFL player who best demonstrates sportsmanship for fair play, respect for the game and opponents, and integrity in competition. The Walter Payton Man of the Year award is given to a player for standout community service as well as excellence on the field.

“It means everything to me. I come in here, I put my heart in to this,” Jones said.

There’s just one problem. You literally can’t help everyone who needs it.

Aaron Jones would love to help more people in need than he already does

When the Packers played in Philadelphia earlier this year, Jones was out for a meal with his mom and brother, walking in the cold and drizzle. Jones saw a homeless woman. He had no wallet on him – “I try not to carry cash because I would give it all away to people on the streets,” Jones said – so he asked his mom for money and advice. Was there a store nearby that sold jackets, or at least a blanket? There wasn't, and Jones felt defeated.

“I had to go get on the team bus; I didn’t have time to get her a jacket or a blanket or anything,” Jones said. “That hurt me. It’s cold. I didn’t know what that person did for that to happen, but you don’t deserve to be cold. I wanted to help them so bad. If I would have had the time I would have drove to Walmart or something.”

Making sure Jones dashed off to work, Alvin Jr. and Vurgess went back to the same area, looking for the woman. But she was gone. Why couldn't she have stayed a moment longer?

“I will tell you, we don’t always see someone in need just because sometimes you're busy. You're doing different stuff,” Alvin Jr. said. “But it's not going to hurt me to give my jacket to someone else. I can go get another jacket. And Aaron is the type of person, he'll give you the shirt off his back."

That’s always a challenge, though, who to help? Especially when the needs and the requests of generous stars grow more and more. And how to avoid the cynicism that comes with dealing with some who are ungrateful? And how to avoid becoming numb to the never-ending lines and pleas of those in need (and sometimes those who aren’t)?

For example, former Milwaukee Buck and current Boston Celtic Malcolm Brogdon determined early in his NBA career that he was going to help countries in Africa get clean water. Unbelievably, that wasn't good enough for some, who actually criticized it, asking Brogdon to help people in the U.S. first.

The Jones twins admire Brogdon (they’re hoops fans) and they understand this difficult position. But their decision is simple and straightforward. The Jones family will concentrate their efforts on children.

“The youth. They’re the future,” Aaron Jones said. “Kids don’t control what situation they are born into; a lot of kids are born in to unfortunate situations. And they have no control over that. I want to be a resource to help them a little bit, however I can to even the playing field.”

The Jones family keeps looking for new ways to help children

So in El Paso the Jones family gave away 100 bikes. Well, until his sister found out there was a family with 12 foster children, so she and a friend decided to go out on their own and buy even more.

And in Green Bay, Jones handed out jackets “because it gets so cold, for the school bus, for recess.”

Capture Sports & Entertainment President Chellee Siewert says she finds the Joneses very involved in the community work, and it's refreshing.

“We were out of town with another athlete and it was just like ... we kind of lost a little hope and humanity with just how some fans reacted,” Siewert said. “But then we were in Green Bay with Aaron giving away the coats and these little kiddos at the school couldn't have been more wonderful. One little girl opens up her jacket and her eyes like lit up. She's like, ‘This is my favorite color. How did he know?’

“And another little girl says, ‘I don't know. Maybe he knows Santa!’”

Even now, in season, with busy lives – Alvin Jr. has played professionally, most recently in the Canadian Football League – Jones and his family are brainstorming new ways to help kids.

“Kids that can't play sports because their parents can't afford it … that's always been big for us," Alvin Jr. said. "Because you never know who any kid can turn out to become, if you're able to show them good things.”

With the financial support of companies such as Kapco in Grafton, Casa Nissan in Texas and Adidas to help cover donations, and just regular people who raised $200,000 at the A&A Foundation November gala because they either find Jones so likable or just believe in his mission, it’s not hard to back Jones. Especially when he's really donating his own time and money.

“I just think of the bigger picture and how many people I’m affecting,” Jones said. “If one person doesn’t like it - doesn’t mean I didn’t affect 100 other people who loved it. I’m doing this with love. Yes it warms my heart but there’s an incentive. Yes, you make money. But what are you doing with it? I want to help people.”

Alvin and Vurgess Jones set their family on the right path

Alvin Sr. and Vurgess are the ones who taught Aaron and Alvin to say "yes, ma’am, and no, sir" to everyone. And now it’s Aaron doing the same thing with his own toddler.

First time interviewing Aaron Jones, at length:

Reporter: blah blah blah

Jones: Yes, ma’am.

Reporter: It’s Lori…

(Repeat, like, nine times in conversation:)

Jones: Yes, ma’am.

Me: Lori…

Jones: Sorry! Coach LaFleur does the same thing. He’s like: ‘Don’t call me sir.’

I’m like, yes, sir.

He’s like, what I just tell you?

"He gives his all to this game every day," Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. "On the practice field, on the game field. Every play, whether it's at the point of attack, whether he's got the ball in his hands, whether he's out there, helping his teammate.

"He lives that same life off the field. He gives everything he has to the community. He does so much for so many people. He's just such a positive person to be around on a daily basis and it makes coming to work and working with guys like that so much more fun."

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers recently mentioned a poll the team took about the most-liked Packers. Jones topped the list, easily. Rodgers laughed about the yes-sir-no-ma'am reputation. But the manners are real.

What a family legacy. Sure we can measure the Joneses by success and achievement, financial gains and personal growth. But they are so clearly motivated with the value of just trying to be decent humans, and money is just one currency they have to help with that.

“I feel like this, whatever you put out there, you get it back – tenfold,” Alvin Jr. said. “It's like, we're just going to do it (donate) and then figure it out later.”

You probably remember the story of Aaron Jones losing a beloved pendant containing some of his father’s ashes. It was later recovered on Lambeau Field. Thank goodness.

Alvin and Vurgess are the kind of parents who noticed the other kids playing sports and would tuck some cash into the hands of the coach to buy them shoes. The absence of judgment in that one act, without the need of the spectacle for an audience to see it – just think about that, and what it says about them, and what it taught their kids.

We only had Alvin Sr. for 56 short years; he died in 2021, from complications of COVID-19. But his good deeds and ideas live on as long as his sons and daughters want it that way.

“One of my last conversations with Mr. Jones before he passed was that, essentially, his dream was for Aaron to do so much good to be nominated for Walter Payton Man of the Year,” Siewert said.

"Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me." Matthew 18:1-5.

“That’s what brings joy to my heart," said Aaron Jones, his leg wrapped up after practice last week, after he had just sacrificed a bye week to stay in Green Bay to rehab. But rest? No way. “If I’m just sitting around the house, I could be visiting a school. I feel like I can make a bigger impact. God blessed me to play football. I am here to use my platform for something else.”

Message Lori Nickel on Twitter at @LoriNickel, Instagram at @bylorinickel or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ChinUpLoriNickel