Jacob Dameron, 10, a sixth-grader at Highview Center, certainly understands the fragility of life, and he’s taking steps — no, make that, jumping — to raise awareness of the dangers of heart disease.
His grandfather, Dan Schmidt, suffered a massive heart attack 10 years ago when he was 64, and has outlived the life of the batteries in his defibrillator. He’s on Defibrillator II.
“I want to support my papaw so others don’t have to go through what he did because it was painful for him,” Jacob said.
Jacob and his grandfather have a relationship shown on the Hallmark channel. If you see one, the other is close behind. Schmidt takes his grandson to school or picks him up about every day, doesn’t miss a baseball game and shows him how to use tools in the garage.
“I like spending time with him,” Jacob said.
So when Wildwood Elementary School held its annual American Heart Association Jump Rope For Heart Program in 2011, Jacob, then a first grader, decided to raise money in honor of his grandfather. That first year, he raised $252.
Most kids would have been one and done.
But Jacob kept right of jumping and raising money.
In the four years since, Jacob has raised $4,462, the most by one student, said Ray Meyer, director of the AHA who has worked with the Middletown Board of the American Heart Association for 28 years.
Call him Jacob the Jumper.
Schmidt, an art teacher at Springboro Intermediate, said her son raises money by passing out bracelets, handing out thank you cards, and building a website through the American Heart Association. He does more than ask his parents and neighbors for money. He's not one of those kids.
Dan Schmidt said he’s “extremely proud” of his grandson, and it’s “nice to have a kid that cares about people deep down.”
Jacob’s dedication and determination certainly have caught the attention of Julie Kauffman, his gym teacher at Wildwood.
“He’s fabulous,” she said. “I don’t know what else to say.”
Then she found more to say: “I have never had a student who worked as hard as Jacob has to accomplish such a big goal.”
Sometime next month, the Middletown City Council is expected to present Jacob with a certificate to recognize his fundraising efforts.
“We are incredibly proud of him,” his mother said. “It’s great that he has a passion for it. That he wants to honor my dad that way.”
She was asked what she would tell her son. The mother got quiet for a few seconds.
“You’re going to make me get emotional…” she said. “I think about the role model that he is setting. To him, nothing is impossible. He does make a difference.”
Youthful enthusiasm and an old soul are reasons to jump for joy.
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