by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
The Jacksonville Jaguars played the first regular season game in team history on Sept. 3, 1995 (a 10-3 loss to the Houston Oilers). The history of the team’s philanthropy began more than six months earlier.
“We awarded our first grants in March 1995. Ten recipients received about $100,000,” said Delores Barr Weaver, co-owner of the team and chair and CEO of the Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation.
The commitment to local philanthropy by Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver was a given, she said.
“Wayne and I decided to become majority partners in 1993 and we decided then it would be a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’ for the foundation,” said Weaver. “We knew that on the coattails of the Jaguars we could do things we couldn’t do as individuals.”
Since that first cycle of funding, more than 130 nonprofit organizations in Duval, Baker, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties have been awarded a total of $13,657,000 in grants. Weaver said that figure will surpass $14 million by the end of this year.
More than 30,000 young people have attended Jaguars home games through the “Honor Rows” program in recognition of their achievement of academic and social goals.
Weaver is one of the founders of the Women’s Giving Alliance, which has awarded more than $2.5 million to local agencies that benefit the lives of women and girls.
She said the Jaguars Foundation also supports The Bridge of Northeast Florida, the PACE Center for Girls, Hubbard House and Girl Scouts of Gateway Council, to mention just a few recipients.
Weaver said she’s most proud of the foundation’s “Straight Talk” program for young people that promotes the prevention of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections through abstinence.
“It’s very fulfilling to know we’re making a difference,” said Weaver.
Weaver talked about her goals for the foundation. “It’s not like going to the Super Bowl. We can’t work toward winning a game. I just want us to serve as many kids as we can each year and touch their lives,” she said.
“It will never be over. There will always be a need for the Jaguars Foundation.”
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