Lifelong residents of the Miami Valley and longtime parishioners of College Hill Community Church, Dave and Jane Thomas firmly believed that one of the greatest losses individuals can have is to not reach their full potential. And giving children the help they need to achieve their goal through educational, medical, emotional or religious support, was the Thomases dream.

In their honor, their children, David Thomas III and Sue Thomas Thayer, established the Dave and Jane Thomas Fund through The Dayton Foundation. Grants from the fund are awarded to College Hill Community Church to support programs or initiatives that will encourage youth to become "responsible and productive citizens and children of God."

Thayer said her father was always thinking of other people's needs. Although his own eyesight started failing before his death in 1976, he would record books onto audiocassettes so that blind students could complete their college courses.

Jane Thomas had all the effervescence and joy to complement her husband's seriousness. She was very social and outgoing, volunteering for a number of organizations, such as Little League, Girl Scouts and The House of Bread.

Thomas III and Thayer established the endowment fund because it would provide a convenient and safe vehicle that would allow their modest donation to grow over time. The endowment also would provide an ongoing financial resource that would perpetuate their parents' spirit of giving to those less fortunate.