James and AnnaMarie Jackson of Evergreen have won a plethora of awards, but last week they were given another: “Parents of the Year.”
“I’ve told them many, many times that they were the best parents in the world, and now it’s official,” said their son Douglass Jackson, 42.
The Jacksons, who have two sons and four grandchildren, will be presented with a plaque Sunday by the National Parents’ Day Council and given a $1,000 check. The fourth Sunday of July was made National Parents’ Day by Congress in 1994 and signed into law by President Clinton.
“We had quite a few outstanding couples, but the Jacksons really stood out,” said Howard Self, spokesman for the nonprofit council. “They had shown a lot of dedication to their own family and then extended that love beyond their own family to take care of others with a parental heart.”
As a real-estate agent, James Jackson reached his childhood dream of becoming a millionaire by the age of 25. At 30, he decided to give his money to charities and start over again.
“Just because you’re rich doesn’t mean you’re happy,” the 64-year- old Jackson said Wednesday.
The Jacksons began Project C.U.R.E., a nonprofit humanitarian relief organization that collects medical surplus and donates it to developing countries.
“They have an amazing level of compassion and consistency,” said Douglass Jackson. “Things that are important to them haven’t changed since I can remember.”
Their son, president of Project C.U.R.E., said his parents taught him and his brother, a firefighter with West Metro Fire and Rescue, to work hard at whatever they did.
James and AnnaMarie, 62, said they raised their kids through example and support.
“There is no curriculum to parenting,” James Jackson said. “… We led by example.”
Staff writer Daarel Burnette II can be reached at 303-820-1201 or dburnette@denverpost.com.
