Contact: Peter Racine, Executive Director, Jaguars Foundation, 904.633.6216, cell: 904.465.4269
Who: Delores and Wayne Weaver along with representatives from Jaguars staff, players and The ROAR cheerleaders, Winn-Dixie and Second Harvest Florida
When: Monday, December 21, 2009, 4:30 p.m., at the NFL - YET (Youth Education Town) Boys and Girls Club, 555 West 25th Street, Jacksonville, Florida 32206
Jacksonville, FL – In the spirit of the "season of giving," the Jacksonville Jaguars organization, on behalf of its fans, has made a donation of $25,000 to Second Harvest North Florida to provide holiday meals for less fortunate families in our community. Winn-Dixie is partnering with the Jaguars by donating $10,000 and supplying all of the food at-cost to feed two thousand families.
Second Harvest's volunteers will assemble and fill 2,000 holiday meal food boxes. Each box will include mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, corn, sweet potatoes/yams, cranberry sauce and a $10 Winn-Dixie gift card to be used toward the purchase of a turkey, ham or other meat. Second Harvest will distribute the holiday meal food boxes to more than 25 non-profit agencies in Northeast Florida, which in-turn will donate the food directly to the families.
"We truly have the best fans and we are grateful for their continued support," expressed Delores Barr Weaver. "This year we decided to 'go green' and cut down on the printing and mailing of holiday cards; instead sending a holiday greeting video by e-mail to our ticket holders. In turn, on behalf of our great fans, we made this contribution to Second Harvest to serve the less fortunate." Wayne Weaver added, "We are thankful for Winn-Dixie's contribution which allows us to reach even more families. We appreciate the partnership we share with Winn-Dixie along with our fans."
Non-profit organizations that are distributing to local families and senior citizens in Duval, Clay, Baker, St. Johns and Nassau counties, include Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida, The Bridge of Northeast Florida, Communities in Schools in Nassau and St. Johns counties, PACE Center for Girls, Police Athletic League, Urban Jacksonville/Cathedral Residences, Episcopal Children's Services, Community Connections, Habitat for Humanity at the Jacksonville Beaches, St. Gerard Campus in St. Augustine, Baker County YMCA and many other organizations.
On Monday, December 21st, at 4:30 pm., the media is invited to join Wayne and Delores Weaver, along with representatives from Winn-Dixie, Second Harvest North Florida, Jaguars staff, cornerback Derek Cox and other Jaguars players, and members of The ROAR Cheerleaders to distribute approximately 100 food boxes to families at the NFL – YET (Youth Education Town), located in Brentwood at 555 West 25th Street, Jacksonville, Florida 32206.
About Winn-Dixie
Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., a proud sponsor and official supermarket of the Jacksonville Jaguars, is one of the nation's largest food retailers. Founded in 1925, the Company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.
The Company currently operates 515 retail grocery locations, including more than 400 in-store
pharmacies, in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi. For more information, please visit www.winn-dixie.com
About Second Harvest North Florida
Second Harvest North Florida is the oldest and largest program of Lutheran Social Services of Northeast Florida. LSS was founded in 1979 by area Lutherans and business leaders to fill gaps in services offered in the community for people in need. Second Harvest gathers food from local and national sources, shares these resources with more than 500 nonprofit organizations in 18 north Florida counties and helps thousands of people each year who are hungry or at risk of not having being able to provide food for themselves and their families. In addition to collecting and distributing food, Second Harvest serves children in after-school programs through its Kids Cafe and in summer camps through its Summer Lunch program. It also takes Mobile Pantries filled with Family Boxes of food to people living in neighborhoods with the greatest needs. Call 904.730.8234 for more information about any of these programs and services.
About the NFL – YET (YOUTH EDUCATION TOWN)
The NFL-YET (YOUTH EDUCATION TOWN) Boys & Girls Club is a part of the Super Bowl XXXIX legacy in Jacksonville. For more than a decade, the National Football League has contributed major funding to build Youth Education Town facilities in Super Bowl host cities. In January 2005, the league announced its $1 million donation for the Jacksonville site, which was matched with an additional $2 million in contributions from the local community. Today, the NFL - YET Boys & Girls Club provides quality after-school programming to more than 100 children daily in the Brentwood community. Boys & Girls Clubs are dedicated youth facilities that provide youth development programs and mentoring daily for children and teenagers. Each Club is strategically located to serve the young people who need it most. We serve more than 1,500 members daily at 15 Club locations. For more information, visit www.bgcnf.org or call us at (904) 396-4435.
KEY CONTACTS:
Jaguars Foundation – Peter Racine (904.633.6216 office, 904.465-5269 cell) RacineP@nfl.jaguars.com
Jaguars Community Relations – Renzo Sheppard (904.616.1538 cell) sheppardr@nfl.jaguars.com
Winn-Dixie – Terry Grooms (904.783.5852 office – 904.955.3680 cell) terrygrooms@winn-dixie.com
Second Harvest Logistics/Planning – Jim Chynoweth (904.868.5940 cell) jchynoweth@wenourishhope.org
Second Harvest Media Relations – Tom Strother (904.229.5957 cell) tstrother@lssjax.org
NFL Yet Center/Boys & Girls Clubs – Darby Stubberfield (904.396.4435) darbys@bgcnf.org
NFL Yet Center/Program Director – Joshua Grant (904.632.8327) joshg@bgcnf.org
