Giving back

With his collection of pennies, nickels and dimes, Joey Roth continues to make a change.

The 14-year-old freshman at Episcopal High School started JAR for Change seven years ago, after tossing loose coins he found in parking lots and around his home into a large glass jar.

“For a long time I had this big jar in my room, and I just thought it would be a good idea to give back to something,” Joey says. “I wanted to find a cause that meant something to me, and I wanted to motivate people around the community and country to find a cause that meant something to them.”

He picked Woman’s Hospital because he was born there and his great uncle, the late Dr. Leo Abraham, was one of its founders.

The acronym for his nonprofit fits him perfectly. The initials for JAR stand for Joey Aiden Roth. And that everlasting fit has allowed his charity to grow over the years. The teen has raised more than $15,000 for the hospital, which has been used to buy iPads for families separated from their babies who were born prematurely, and for older siblings to play games and read books while waiting for their parents.

But the iPads have also found a new use under Woman’s COVID-19 regulations that restrict visitation to one family member per patient and no children, Roth says.

The iPads have given many families an opportunity to see their babies and each other during a time when social interaction and touching is a safety concern. Joey’s philanthropy helped fund this connection, and he is proud that an idea to save a bunch of spare change continues to help so many in need.

When he first started JAR for Change, he placed containers at businesses around town as collection sites. The jars could be found at restaurants, including Bistro Byronz, and retail stores like Pool and Spa World. As the world becomes increasingly digital, his nonprofit has adapted, and now people mostly donate online through the Woman’s Hospital website.

When Joey is not in school and collecting change for his nonprofit, he is an active member in the arts community. He loves theater and dance and has been in a few productions at Theatre Baton Rouge, including Newsies and Mary Poppins.

But philanthropy will always be his priority.

“I love leadership and I love entrepreneurship,” Joey says. “And to see people helping with a project that I’m working on has been both gratifying and important.” Find JAR for Change on Facebook, womans.org

This article was originally published as part of the October 2020 cover story of 225 Magazine.