Volunteer Feature: Merl Jones

April is Volunteer Appreciation Month and we wanted to shine a light on a few volunteers who make our mission possible. This week, we’re introducing you to Merl Jones! 

Merl has been involved with YCV since 2019. Although he’s a father, husband, and granddad of two, he still finds time to use his voice to spread the message of civic engagement and voting. It’s a lesson Jones’ mother taught him early on. Jones was a young boy when he traveled with his mother to Washington D.C. as Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his March on Washington speech. It’s a moment that forever etched the importance of voting in his memory. 

“I was too small to understand what was going on, but we were there. Hauled a bus up there, stayed at my aunt’s house and watched it on a little, teeny-tiny black and white tv, and that’s been instilled in my heart for a long time,” Merl said. 

His favorite part about serving his community is showing someone who may not exercise their right to vote that their vote matters. “When there was an opportunity that I could go and serve at some type of event I was gung ho about going to speak to somebody about the necessity to vote….I'm excited about planting a little seed in someone that will go ahead, get prepared, and register for the 2024 election.” 

For those who’ve had the privilege of working closely with Merl, his leadership is what stands out most. “He’s a leader in his community and that’s without You Can Vote,” said Brandon Rivers, YCV’s Regional Organizing Director for the Piedmont Triad. “He takes time to go out and do the work when he doesn’t have to,” he said. 

Rivers said Jones is the reason he started getting more involved with other organizations in the Tarheel State. 

We’re so grateful to Merl for all of the work he does to educate, register and empower voters in the Charlotte area!

Merl Jones volunteering with YCV (pictured left).