"It's about giving something back."

Growing up in a rural Alabama town had quite an impact on Jimmy Rane and the lessons he learned early in his life have stuck with him. One of the most important lessons: helping those in need. It is a lesson Jimmy saw in the actions of his parents time and again. One of those vivid images is of his father feeding a hungry family that was passing through town and then putting them on a bus for Columbus, Georgia. This story and other acts of kindness and life lessons that shaped Jimmy into the man he has become are recounted in "Mr. Tony's Lessons of La Famiglia." This beautiful book, available at www.mrtonybook.com (all proceeds benefit the Jimmy Rane Foundation Scholarship Fund), is a story of the American dream and provides a glimpse into the events and people whose kindness planted a seed that would become the Jimmy Rane Foundation.

The seed planted years ago by witnessing a small act of kindness has grown into full bloom as Jimmy has continued to give back to his community through the years. In 2001, he began to dream of doing more and the Jimmy Rane Foundation was formed.

Established with the purpose of sending deserving students to college, the Foundation attained its initial goal in May of 2002 when it awarded its first college scholarship. Through partnerships with corporate-citizens, the Foundation has been able to award 112 college scholarships to students from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. Today, these students are chasing their dreams of a college education at institutions such as Auburn University, Duke, University of Alabama, Harvard, University of Georgia, Emory, Brown, Texas A&M, Troy University, Wallace Community College and more. The reach of the Foundation has spread far and wide, planting seeds of kindness that will bloom in the years to come.

For Jimmy Rane, it's his hope that this foundation will make a difference in the lives of outstanding young men and women and that they in turn will return the favor in the years to come. As he puts it, "It's about giving something back."