Donation honors teacher's passion

In the fall of 2010, Justin Jensen was going to start his dream job.

A few months earlier, the Bartlett High School graduate had accepted a job at Anderson Elementary School in St. Charles, where he planned to work as a special education resource teacher.

Before he could start, Jensen died on July 5 of a previously undetected heart condition. He was only 22 years old.

But his passion for children with special needs will continue long after his passing. Jensen's girlfriend, Streamwood High School graduate Mary Bares, announced Thursday she is donating the $20,000 raised by a jog in Jensen's memory to Special Olympics in Elgin Area School District U-46.

“Special education was Justin's life,” Bares said Thursday, addressing Special Olympics athletes gathered for practice at the Gifford Street High School. “He would be here with all of you right now, having fun.”

The donation could not have come at a better time. The U-46 Blue Stars rely solely on donations, and the economy has forced the team to cut back on transportation and needed uniforms.

“It's been really overwhelming,” said Laura Keating, director of the U-46 Special Olympics program. “With the economy being tough, people don't have money to donate.”

“We weren't going to be able to run the program because we didn't have any money,” Keating said. “It will just help us continue the programs we've been offering.”

About 200 Special Olympians in U-46 currently participate in basketball, track and field and bowling. Keating said she plans to survey parents about how the donation should be spent.

Stacy Graves of Hoffman Estates said she was shocked when she heard about the donation.

Her son, Braden, a fourth-grader at Timber Trails Elementary School, participates in track and basketball.

“It's such a positive for all of the kids,” Stacy Graves said. “I can't wait to see what wonderful things they can do with the money.”