A helping hometown hand: First Coast youth benefit from baseball, golf, fishing charities

There is no shortage of sports-related charities that have benefited First Coast residents in numerous ways over the last five decades.

The Players Championship has donated more than $100 million to area organizations since it was first played in Ponte Vedra Beach in 1977 as the PGA Tour's marquee event. It has touched almost every aspect of the First Coast, for children and adults, in the areas of health care, education and recreation.

The Jay Fund, the charity launched by former Jacksonville Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin, has raised nearly $25 million in a quarter-century to help the victims and families of childhood cancer on the First Coast and the New York metropolitan area.

The Jim and Tabitha Furyk Foundation has raised $3.5 million in only three years of the PGA Tour Champions Furyk & Friends tournament at the Timuquana Country Club.

All three are commendable organizations that have impacted thousands of families.

But there also are charities that were launched on the First Coast, by First Coast natives or long-time residents, that benefit First Coast children and youth. And, they are not so much handouts but helping hands, giving kids a chance to learn new sports or activities that also offer important life lessons or to help them make the first step in a quest for higher education.

It costs money, but it's not about money when it comes to the recipients. And the impact of three charities can't be measured completely until the youth it helps reach adulthood.

One is trying to fill the void of what was once America's Pastime for underserved areas of the First Coast. Another uses golf to further education. And another not only teaches kids an activity for life but helps them appreciate the environment and the beauty of the area's waterways.

Here are their stories.

Walk Off Charities builds it, and they're coming

Frank Frangie, the radio voice of the Jacksonville Jaguars and host of a daily sports talk show on 1010-XL, has told the story a thousand times.

A repairman came to his house in 2017 to fix the dishwasher. During the conversation, the man told Frangie he lived near the San Souci Park, where Frangie grew up playing youth baseball. When Frangie asked the man if his kids played ball, the reply saddened him: the man had five children and the registration fees for one year were $150, not to mention gloves, spikes and ferrying kids to practice and games.

"My kids will never play organized baseball," the man said, referring to the cost.

Frangie was already aware that nationwide, baseball participation in urban areas was declining sharply as more kids were gravitating to football and basketball. For a guy who grew up steeped in the sport (his uncle was a third-base coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Frangie played high school baseball at Englewood), it was an affront to his love of the game.

Frangie then swung into action. He launched Walk Off Charities, whose goal was to give kids the opportunity to play baseball, T-ball and softball without paying high registration fees or paying for uniforms and equipment.

The charity sponsors a series of clinics, with the coaches at the University of North Florida, Jacksonville University, Edward Waters and Florida State College-Jacksonville, and high school coaches doing the instruction, with help from many of their players.

Every kid who comes to a clinic gets a glove. Every kid who plays in a Walk Off Charities league gets a uniform.

The city of Jacksonville Recreation and Parks, high school coaches and the Duval County Public Schools Athletic Department have been superb partners.

And, seven years later, Walk Off Charites has impacted an average of 2,000 kids per year through the clinics and the WOC leagues that are held at 10 area parks — and the crown jewel facility, the Bragan Baseball Complex at the city-owned Fort Family Regional Park off Gate Parkway in Baymeadows.

One recent Saturday, Frangie stood in the middle of the three baseball fields (two for youth and T-Ball, another a full-sized high school/adult field) and watched two championship games of WOC Leagues taking place, and the WOC travel team getting ready for a practice game.

All around were the sounds and sights of baseball: bats meeting balls, coaches imploring kids to hit the cutoff man or round third and head for home, parents cheering and kids who had finished their games and imploring Mom and Dad for hot dogs and a coke.

"No kid should have this kind of joy and another kid sitting next to him in school not have it because of money," Frangie said. "We didn't do this to find the next Major Leaguer. We did this to make every kid feel included."

Walk Off Charities manages the Bragan Complex ( named for the family that was the long-time owners of the Jacksonville Suns minor league team) for the city, with the revenue from renting the fields and concessions going back into its efforts to expose children in the urban core and other underserved areas to baseball.

Since the complex opened in February, there have been dozens of high school, American Legion and travel-ball games at the bigger field, and the Coastal Collegiate League, a wood-bat league for college-age players.

Frangie participated in the complex's design, which also features an outdoor picnic area and VIP seating. The deep emerald green of the artificial grass and the deep reddish-brown of the infield dirt and mounds offer an eye-pleasing contrast and do justice to any Major League park.

During the process, did Frangie ever hear in his mind the words whispered to the fictional character Ray Kinsella in the baseball movie, "Field of Dreams?"

"Now that you mention it ... absolutely," he said.

The Bragan Complex became a necessary piece of the puzzle, according to Kennedy Grayson, WOC's director of marketing and development.

"We started with the clinics and they were our bread and butter," she said. "But we realized that when they left the clinics and we sent them home with a glove, many of them didn't have a place to play. They might not have had a league in their neighborhood. So in addition to having our leagues in 10 parks, they have a place to play here."

The WOC staff has baseball and youth sports deeply ingrained in them. Grayson played three sports at Mandarin High School. Executive director Jarrod Simmons followed his father in playing at Parker High, then played for Flagler College and worked in community outreach for the Atlanta Braves. Donna Murphy, the operations manager, grew up watching her father coach baseball at Spruce Creek High. And the coach of the WOC "Scout Team" (its travel team) is former Ponte Vedra High baseball coach Tom Stanton.

"I would not be where I am if I did not have baseball in my life," Simmons said. "I was fortunate to work for the team I grew up rooting for, but I always had a passion for giving back to my hometown and I'm helping give kids a chance to play and fall in love with the game."

Stanton said high-level travel baseball had become a matter of the haves and have-nots. The kids on the WOC travel team don't pay for uniforms, equipment or travel expenses, which cost around $40,000 for one season.

"Travel ball was for the elite," he said. "Families were getting priced out of it. Baseball has brought a lot of great things to me and my family and I wanted to make sure kids have that opportunity."

But from T-ballers to travel ball, every kid gets the same chance at Walk Off Charities.

Visit walkoffcharities.com.

JAGA Scholarship Trust in 50th year

Christmas comes in May for future college students from the First Coast and for the members of the Jacksonville Area Golf Association.

That's when JAGA holds a gathering at an area course to present the newest class who will receive their share of the JAGA Scholarship Trust, which celebrated 50 years of helping First Coast students with their college and career dreams.

"This is the high point of the year for us," said Ken Hicks, who was the chairman of the JAGA Scholarship Trust for eight years. "People know us for running golf tournaments [JAGA conducts or assists with 12 events, including the Jacksonville Amateur and the First Coast Women's Championship] but our primary goal is the Scholarship Trust."

At the Deerwood Country Club on May 21, 16 First Coast high school graduates received the first installment of their $1,250 yearly grant, an increase from $1,000. The scholarships are renewable annually, with a requirement that the students take at least 12 semester hours and maintain a 2.0 grade point average.

The Class of 2024 brings the total of students actively receiving aid to 51. Since 1974, the JAGA Trust has assisted more than 400 students with more than $2 million in aid.

The money is raised by members of one of the 48 JAGA-affiliated clubs through individual or club donations. Some clubs host tournaments to raise money for the Scholarship Trust and each November, JAGA holds its own fundraising tournament.

The grants go to the children or grandchildren of JAGA club members, or employees of a JAGA club and their children or grandchildren, who apply through their club's JAGA director.

There is no requirement for a scholarship recipient to go into a golf-related field — or even play golf. But many do gravitate to the industry, and past JAGA Scholarship recipients include former University of North Florida player and Callaway Golf executive Jacob Davidson, Deerwood superintendent Paul Rio, former Sawgrass Country Club assistant pro Hannah Berman, Jacksonville University golf coach Mike Blackburn and Michael Todd Roy, who now teaches at the Philadelphia Golf and Racket Club.

Others have gone into non-golf fields, such as the Root sisters, Emily and Amelia. They are graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy and are currently serving on active duty overseas.

Other organizations are getting involved with the JAGA Trust. The TaxSlayer Gator Bowl and the Jim and Tabitha Furyk Foundation funded two JAGA scholarships each. In addition, five members of the Moore-Myers Childrens Fund, which is affiliated with the First Tee-North Florida, earned grants.

"It's absolutely wonderful to have JAGA support," said Justin Redding, the Moore-Myers co-founder. "They are helping create opportunities for our children to soar through life."

Jason Bond, a First Coast graduate who will attend Florida Atlantic, said the JAGA grant actually meant more to him than the money.

"It showed that someone had belief in me," he said. "It helps my confidence a lot knowing someone out there wanted to help me make a difference."

Visit jaxareagolf.org.

Marine Charities teaches kids to fish, care for environment

Jacksonville Marine Charities, which has been the 501(c)(3) arm of the Jacksonville Kingfish Tournament for the last 44 years, has donated more than $650,000 over that span in funding programs that support, according to its mission statement, "marine science research, preservation, and education."

The charity has assisted Jacksonville University's Marine Science Research Insitute, funding the Sisters Creek Park Maintenance and Improvement Fund, contributed to the renovation of the Helen Cooper Floyd Little Jetties Park, implemented the Boater 101 marine science education course in area high schools and supported the St. Johns Riverkeeper, the Safe Harbor Boys Home and Northeast Florida Womens Veterans.

But JMC also spends a large amount of time and money helping kids learn to fish.

The charity holds tournaments and outings throughout the year for youth and children, ranging from the Junior Angler Tournament that is the traditional kickoff to Kingfish Tournament week (July 10-20 this year, at the Jim King Park and Boat Ramp) to events in which other charities bring children to Sisters Creek for a day of "dock fishing."

The JMC hosts its "Down at the Dock Derby for children with Downs Syndrome, the Jacksonville School for Autism "Flounder Pounder" tournament and also has hosted kids from the Safe Harbor Boys Home, the MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation and the Child Cancer Fund.

There are also Saturday fishing clinics and children from Jacksonville's urban core have been frequent visitors to the docks. Nearly 100 kids attended a recent event.

The JMC also gives away more than 200 fishing rods annually, courtesy of Fish Florida, to kids who don't have the equipment.

Thompson said there's nothing like seeing the look on a kid's face when they catch their first fish.

"Helping them put a shrimp on their hook, watching them catch the fish and the smiles from the kids and their parents are memories they won't ever forget," he said. "We try to make them superstars for a day."

Almost every fisherman will say they do it for relaxation, a way to get away from the stress of everyday life.

Mel Hammock, the 2024 GJKT chairman, said hosting children who have challenges in their lives is even more rewarding.

"When you have a kid who is struggling, with their health or other issues, and you hand them a rod and see them catch a fish, it's something we know will stick with them the rest of their life," Hammock said. "And the best part is that there are no limitations. Boy or girl, big or small, you don't have to be an athlete ... anyone can do this. We have kids in wheelchairs who come out and fish. The interaction we have with kids and fishing is my favorite part of being involved with the Kingfish Tournament."

Visit kingfishtournament.com/jacksonville-marine-charities.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: A helping hometown hand: First Coast youth benefit from baseball, golf, fishing charities