Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Julius Thomas and St. Vincent's HealthCare kicked off a partnership this week to encourage children to read.
Thomas will work with the hospital to collect books for children and will read to them, as well.
The football player credited education, specifically reading, as a contributing factor to his success.
The hospital has a program called Reach Out and read, which provides books to children during visits.
It also hosts Read and Romp. For more information, visit jaxhealth.com.
‘A Night at Roy’s’ raises $52,000
More than $52,000 was donated to the Monique Burr Foundation for Children’s “Child Safety Matters” program by guests at “A Night at Roy’s” April 19 at celebrity chef Roy Yamaguchi’s restaurant in Jacksonville Beach.
The program educates elementary school students and their parents and caregivers about the dangers of bullying, child abuse and exploitation.
The curriculum is approved in 58 counties in Florida and has reached more than 1 million children and adults.
For details, visit mbfchildsafetymatters.org.
YMCA ‘Healthy Kids Day’ on Saturday
The YMCA of Florida’s First Coast will host Healthy Kids Day presented by JAX Sports Charities 9 a.m.-noon Saturday at the Brooks Family YMCA near Gate Parkway and Butler Boulevard.
The free community event will encourage children to keep their minds and bodies active during summer vacation while providing them with activities and resources to achieve their potential all year.
Healthy Kids Day is held at more than 1,300 YMCAs with more than 1.2 million participants.
The event will feature games, booths, a farm-to-city barnyard, food trucks, giveaways and a drawing for one week of YMCA summer camp.
In conjunction with Healthy Kids Day and the Y’s mission to build a healthier community, the rescheduled opening ceremony of First Coast Games, a corporate health and wellness challenge, also will take place at 9 a.m. Saturday at Brooks Family YMCA.
Nearly 2,600 employees from 32 local companies will compete.
For information about Healthy Kids Day or First Coast Games, visit firstcoastymca.org.
Give Local Jax campaign Tuesday
Give Local Jax will join nonprofits and community foundations across the U.S. for Give Local America — a 24-hour crowdfunding event Tuesday that provides a platform to invest in local nonprofits.
In 2015, through a partnership with over 9,000 nonprofits, Give Local America raised more than $68 million for communities.
This year, Give Local America hopes to engage even more nonprofits and expand its fundraising efforts to reach $100 million.
Give Local Jax is a grassroots movement to encourage Northeast Florida nonprofits to partner with other local nonprofits to connect donors to organizations solving the community’s most pressing challenges.
Local participating nonprofits are Cornerstone Special Education Advocacy, Forgotten Fruit, Friends of ElderSource, Jacksonville Speech & Hearing Center, JASMYN, PACE Center for Girls Clay County, Pine Castle, St. Francis Animal Hospital, The Salvation Army of Northeast Florida, Susan G. Komen of North Florida and Youth Crisis Center.
For more information about supporting Give Local America 2016, visit GiveLocalJax.com.
Wet a hook May 21 for Wolfson Children's Hospital
Competitive bass fishermen and casual anglers will compete May 21 at the 27th annual Wolfson Children’s Hospital bass tournament.
What has grown into the state’s largest bass fishing tournament takes place each year in Palatka to benefit patients of the Jacksonville children’s hospital.
The tournament has grown every year, thanks to sponsors and participants who contributed $300,000 to the hospital last year and more than $2.5 million since the tournament began.
Last year’s event drew 614 registered boats, 1,200 fishermen and more than 100 volunteers.
Registration is open for $100 per boat and will be accepted until safe-light launch on tournament day.
The annual Lads and Lasses Bass Tournament will be May 19 and the VIP and Friends Bass Tournament will be May 20 from safe light until 3 p.m.
Entry fee is $80 per boat; entry forms are available online.
A drawing will be held after the final weigh-in for a fully equipped 2016 Bullet 21XRS bass boat with Boatmate trailer and Mercury 225 Pro outboard valued at over $56,000.
For details and to register for all tournaments, visit wolfsonbasstournament.com.
For other ways to support Wolfson Children’s Hospital, visit wolfsonchildrens.org/waystogive.