As with many origin stories, history and those who led the way before us are integral pieces to the puzzle. The beginning of 10Four’s initial location at 2102 N. Marion St., Denver, CO 80205 starts with Ms. Jefferson and OCEA. Sam met Adofo and Valentino, the sons Ms. Jefferson and their desire to continue serving the Denver community resulted in a perfect fit to continue the tradition of service and move 10Four into the space.
As a native of Denver, CO, and a graduate of Manual High School, Frances Jefferson grew up with four brothers, three older sisters, and a father who was not supportive of his daughters going to college. Despite the lack of support and not knowing how she could afford it, Frances pursued her goals and defied the odds to become the first in her family to go to college. She attended the University of Colorado and earned both, a Bachelors degree in English and a Master’s degree in Public Administration.
Throughout her years Frances (affectionately known as “Fran J”) developed a strong desire to help and serve people in the community. She was well known throughout the Denver Metropolitan Area and was involved in several organizations. Being a single parent of two boys she was determined to provide a better quality of life for them than what she grew up with. She often worked two jobs to support her family and then relied on her education to find a better career. She eventually found a position at the U.S. Department of Labor – Women’s Bureau, where she worked for over 30 years and retired as the Regional Administrator. Working with the Women’s Bureau fulfilled her desire to serve the community as she became an advocate for women and traveled the region speaking extensively to them about employment rights, wages, and career opportunities.
Upon retiring from the Department of Labor, Frances along with her former mentor and trusted friend, Oleta Crain, who also retired as the Regional Administrator with the Women’s Bureau, discussed how they could continue their legacy of service. Both women had a heart for helping young women and minorities in the community and together they decided to create the Oleta Crain Enrichment Academy (crainjef.org). Upon Oleta’s death in 2007, Frances took the initiative and was instrumental in converting Oleta’s personal residence at 2102 Marion Street into a community center that would focus on serving youth in the surrounding area. Today that facility is known as the 10Four Youth Center. The Frances E. Jefferson Memorial Scholarship was established in 2023.
Elana’s parents were children of the Great Depression, where poverty and struggle surrounded them and their families. This gave them a tremendous appreciation for the harshness and unjustness of social and economic disparity. This motivated her father Sol to depend on his personal initiative, determination, and ingenuity to escape poverty and strive for success. He was in one sense a “self made man”, but he always realized that he would have gotten nowhere without the financial loan from his father-in-law to start his own business. Elana’s parents passed down an understanding that no matter how much a person personally achieved, no one is an island and we all need help from others to succeed in life.
This understanding and compassion for the struggles of others also made her parents lifelong supporters of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “New Deal”, which was the government-funded program that pulled many unemployed people out of the Depression and put them back on their feet.
Elana traveled the world at a young age so she did not have a myopic view of humanity. She was a citizen of planet Earth. She traveled to places like India and Afghanistan, where poverty is on full display and she could see firsthand that Third World countries don’t have the privileges we do.
During her extensive travels, Elana lived on the island of Ibiza for over a year in a one room adobe hut with no running water, electricity or plumbing. A cistern to collect rainwater and fresh figs, apricots and carob beans that she gathered from nearby trees and laid to dry on a cloth outside were often her main sources of sustenance. While living this simply and sparingly was not that different from other native islanders a stone’s throw away, it allowed Elana to grasp early on the value of having a small carbon footprint and treading the earth lightly.
Her whole generation was one of the first to be collectively concerned about environmental issues and our impact on the planet’s limited resources – so she carried those same concerns and made lifestyle decisions based on those concerns throughout the duration of her life. Elana’s charitable work reflected her respect for the environment.
While Sam grew up, Elana would involve him in charitable actions. She allowed Sam to donate to causes he deemed important. She was a lifelong donor to environmental and animal charities. She would sponsor underprivileged children around the world and exchange pictures and letters with them. Sam wrote to the children and formed worldwide pen pals. Elana would also take children of family friends into her home and support them when they were having a difficult time at home.
As the eldest child, she was readymade as a mediator and problem solver. She continued to try to lead and resolve conflict until the end of her life. Her Doctoral work revolved around bridging divides between warring factions through cultural work of film, dialogue, and mediation. She really believed in the cause of Peace and Justice, and her charitable donations reflected those who also held that as a sacred goal.