As parents around Richmond prepare for the holidays by purchasing gifts, scheduling mall visits, tapping into savings and sharing holiday cheer, Henrico County resident Kathey Bacon Stone will be in Whitehouse, Jamaica, giving the best gifts of all — time, opportunity and love.

As founder of The Stone Foundation, a nonprofit that “provides assistance and education, and promotes innovative solutions for community development” to people in some of the world’s poorest communities, Mrs. Stone will be traveling from Richmond to Whitehouse, Jamaica, this Christmas. There, the Virginia Commonwealth University graduate will host the foundation’s 4th Annual Robin B. Conyers Braxton Women’s Health Fair.

The Stone Foundation, now in its 12th year, began serving the Jamaican community in response to the realities of the tourism industry, the systems engineer says on the foundation’s website. She and her husband, Spencer, the foundation’s co-founder, were on vacation touring Jamaica’s South Coast in 2004.

“While sitting together on a precipice, with our backs to the beautiful mountains and overlooking the azure blue sea,” she says she noticed that Jamaican workers were repaving the road behind her.

“We turned around to observe this event, and noticed that most of the road workers spreading the hot asphalt were barely teenagers. We also noticed the majority of them were not wearing shoes as they traversed back and forth across the hot, newly paved road.”

Curious, she started a conversation with the workers. They found out that, indeed, the workers were young — about the same ages as the couple’s daughters — and didn’t own any shoes. They were both shoeless and shirtless working in the 100-degree heat.

The image was so profound, she says, she could not “help but think about my daughters back home in the comfort of their grandparents’ home.”

“Eventually, we went back to our spot staring at the sea,” says Mrs. Stone. “After a long period of silence and a few tears,” the couple decided to do something to help.

Shortly after, Hurricane Ivan decimated Jamaica, the third-largest island in the Caribbean.

The Stone Foundation solicited support in the United States and received, packed, and delivered almost 2 tons of children’s clothing, blankets, shoes, dishes, baby cribs and computers to children in Jamaica.

Since then, the foundation has taken annual trips to Jamaica to “work with women and children to improve their quality of life,” said Mrs. Stone. The work has included cultural exchange programs, building desks and a playground at a local school, installing a solar energy system to power lights and fans in a preschool and putting on several health fairs.

Five years after starting the foundation, Mrs. Stone’s best friend died at age 54 from breast cancer.

“Just before her transition, Robbie reminded me how blessed she was and how the health care at Kraft Foods, her employer, was such a benefit in her life,” says Mrs. Stone.In an effort to provide quality health care to women without such advantages, The Stone Foundation’s Robin B. Conyers Braxton Women’s Health Initiative has sponsored women’s health fairs in Jamaica, as well as here in Church Hill and Petersburg.

She is continually inspired by the opportunity to serve.

“I am driven by the idea of helping others live a better life,” she says. “I am driven by the opportunity to reach out and extend a helping hand.”

Meet a servant of people in communities from Richmond to Jamaica and this week’s Personality, Kathey Bacon Stone:

Occupation: Systems engineer, Commonwealth of Virginia.

Community involvement: Founder, The Stone Foundation, a nonprofit organization that serves the less fortunate.  

What I do: I’ve worked in various technology positions for the State of Virginia for almost 30 years and for other Fortune 500 companies prior to joining the state. Now that my girls are grown, I devote my free time to the operating needs of The Stone Foundation, managing a building project in Jamaica and recruiting others to give just a little bit of themselves for the better good of the world.

Date and place of birth: March 13 in Mecklenburg County.

Current residence: Henrico County.

Education: Bachelor of science degree in information systems and international business certification from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Family: Spencer, spouse and co-founder of The Stone Foundation, and daughters, Kali, 26, and Shannon and Sara, 23.

Why I am excited about The Stone Foundation: Even though The Stone Foundation was formed to empower youths in Jamaica, I am excited and enthusiastic about extending a hand to women and children in need. I truly believe that women are the backbone of the family, and, to remain strong, must be cared for themselves. Women must be healthy to bring healthy children into the world, to care for the old and sick and to make this world a better place to live. The Stone Foundation believes if you better the lives of mothers, you better the lives of the entire family.

Number of people served since founding: We have served thousands of children with our hurricane relief efforts, mission trips and educational support. Additionally, hundreds of women have benefited from the free health screenings and educational opportunities provided during our annual women’s health fairs.

Our support comes from: Donations and fundraisers. We love the idea of “Parties with a Purpose.” Earlier this year, The Stone Foundation received a generous donation of toys, educational material and toiletries from the James River Valley Chapter of The Links Inc.

Number of volunteers: The number of volunteers varies depending on the type and size of the event we sponsor or in which we participate.  

Our biggest success: Is the identification of life-threatening tumors, diabetic conditions and hypertensive crises at our health fairs. Our second biggest success was the installation of lights and cool air in a school for deserving children.

Our biggest challenge: Raising enough funds to continue our initiatives and to sustain and maintain the work we have done continues to be our biggest challenge.

We could do more if: I had more hours in the day.  I have a full-time job in which I give 110 percent. After work and other daily responsibilities, I climb into bed with my laptop and run The Stone Foundation.  

Dream for organization: My immediate dream is to complete our Solar Education Project for Gordon’s Early Childhood Institute in Big Bridge, Jamaica. This project started in 2015 when The Stone Foundation delivered and installed a solar energy system to provide lights and fans to a group of 70 preschoolers who attend school in a tin-roof structure. To complete the project, new dry cell batteries are needed for the solar system, additional lights and fans are needed, along with a computer and educational software.

My bigger dream is to educate others on the importance of helping those in need. Such education will lead to rewards experienced by those with servant’s hearts. In 2013, more than 60 participants, ages 6 to 60, from Own Touch Soccer and The Stone Foundation journeyed to Jamaica to take part in a series of cultural exchanges. Our journey included several days of soccer clinics with local Jamaican children where gently used soccer gear was delivered to the local youths. We later traveled to a local school and worked on the two-room school building, built desks and a playground, and planted flowers to beautify the grounds. The rewards for the Jamaican children were immediate and significant; however, the rewards for our group were even greater. We received the gift of a full and giving heart and a desire to help and give back to others in the future.

I’m driven by: The smiles on the faces of the children and the songs they sing.

Perfect day: When I open my email and there’s a note asking, “How can we help?” Or when the phone rings and someone says “I’ve just made a donation.”

Perfect evening: Mingling with friends, eating good food and drinking a specialty drink at one of The Stone Foundation’s fundraising events.

If I had more time, I would: Spend more time on strategic planning efforts for the foundation and seeking sponsorship for our initiatives.

Best late-night snack: Popcorn.

My friends say that I: Am a matter-of-fact, persistent, hands-on kind of girl.

The one thing I can’t stand: A person who lies.

Person who influenced me the most: My father. He would work from sunup to sundown. He worked two jobs; he worked in the church; he built his home, his mother’s home, and his brother’s home; he was the father figure to his nine brothers and sisters after his father passed. He taught my sister and brother and me to love and take care of each other, to be respectful and to do the right thing. He often says, “A man is as good as his word.” He leads by example.

What I’m reading now: I’m studying for my Six Sigma certification. I don’t read for pleasure nearly as much as I would like.

The best thing my parents ever taught me: To work hard, to always do my best and to be kind.

My next goal: Organize additional youth mission trips that will open eyes, soften hearts and change lives. The Stone Foundation would love to be a partner with others to foster rewarding relationships and effective projects. www.ourstonefoundation.org