Students from the Sporting JAX Foundation soccer clinics pair up with members of the Sporting JAX men’s and women’s teams for back-to-school shopping
Sporting Club Jacksonville partnered with Walmart today to host the first Sporting JAX Foundation Shop with a Player Back-to-School Event. Members of the Sporting JAX men’s and women’s professional soccer teams joined children from the Sporting JAX Foundation soccer clinics as they shopped for back-to-school supplies in preparation for the new school year.
Each student was supplied with a $50 Walmart gift card provided by the Sporting JAX Foundation to use for any back-to-school supplies needed to help start the school year strong. Sporting JAX players, including names such as Georgia Brown, Meg Hughes, Luc Granitur and Tyshawn Rose, then accompanied a group of two to three students each through the store to shop.
“We want to partner with the community, our players, our staff and most importantly the kids of Jacksonville,” said Pat Waters, Sporting JAX President and Chief Revenue Officer. “It shows that it’s important. You have professional soccer players from our men’s and women’s teams out here mentoring the kids, going around, looking for school supplies; it takes a little bit of that anxiety away and makes it fun for the kids, which is awesome.”
The attending students ranged from ages 4-16, and attend schools within multiple counties in the greater Jacksonville area. The funds provided by the Sporting JAX Foundation helped the students purchase items such as binders, pencils and new clothes.
“I thought it was something very nice to do with the community because school can be expensive and being able to get that little help is always awesome,” said Beatriz, a local mother whose daughters participated in Thursday’s event. “When my girls found out, they were so excited. Especially [my daughter], she has done certain things with the [Sporting JAX Foundation] program; she was excited that she was going to meet the soccer players and everything.”
Sporting JAX’s players enjoyed participating in the event, with it even reminding some of the excitement they experienced during Back-to-School season as children. They also acknowledged how the club’s involvement with events like these can help uplift those in the community that they now call home.
“The girls were really great; we had lots of fun shopping… they were so excited to go back to school, which is really nice to see,” said Sporting JAX defender Georgia Brown. “I know it can be such a burden for some parents as well, so I think it’s just a really good thing that Sporting JAX are doing to help alleviate some of that pressure from the parents.”
Sporting JAX kicks off their second season in the Gainbridge Super League on August 15 against Fort Lauderdale United FC. To learn more about the Sporting JAX Foundation and its mission, visit https://www.sportingjax.com/foundation/, and to purchase season tickets for Sporting JAX’s women’s season, you can visit https://www.sportingjax.com/season-tickets/, or call (904) 863-KICK to speak with a representative.
