Tim Tebow will join celebrity friends from around the country on March 11-12 at TPC Sawgrass for a fundraising gala and golf tournament to support the former University of Florida quarterback’s foundation.
Guests include Urban Meyer, Lou Holtz, The Band Perry, Chipper Jones, Billy Horschel, Chris Tomlin, Zach Johnson, Archie Griffin, Danny Wuerffel and “Duck Dynasty” cast members.
The weekend’s festivities begin at 6 p.m. March 11 with an invitation-only Celebrity Gala.
On March 12, Tebow hosts a tournament incorporating games and activities into each hole on the course, including a lip sync competition for a team prize, a Hoop It Up contest for mulligans and spectator putt for a free stroke.
The funds will support the foundation’s programs including Night to Shine, a worldwide prom for people with special needs; making dreams come true for children with life-threatening illnesses through the W15H program; and building Timmy’s Playrooms in children’s hospitals around the world.
For information, visit timtebowfoundation.org.
Rodeo for charity at Jacksonville Equestrian Center
Hold on to your 10-gallon hats rodeo fans, because the Jacksonville Equestrian Center is bringing the Atlantic Coast Stampede to town Friday and Saturday.
Some of the Southeast’s top cowboys and cowgirls will go head-to-head.
A portion of each night’s proceeds will be donated to the Northeast Florida chapter of Wish For Our Heroes and Wolfson Children’s Hospital.
Among the stars on the Southeast International Professional Rodeo Association standings expected to compete are Florida hometown favorite Dustin Equsquiza of Marianna, who ranks fifth on the header team roping boards, and two leaders in the all-around standings: Justin Thigpen, who also heads the tie-down roping standings; and Alexander Blaze, who tops the bull riding leaderboard.
General admission is $15, general admission for children ages 10 and under is $10, and all reserved seating is $20.
For more information and tickets, visit atlanticcoaststampede.com.
$250,000 raised for Volunteers in Medicine
When philanthropist Delores Barr Weaver issued a challenge grant to Volunteers in Medicine donors, she had no idea her gift would generate almost $250,000 to help Jacksonville’s low-income, working and uninsured obtain free healthcare services.
The grant, through Weaver’s association with The Community Foundation of Northeast Florida, was to match the clinic’s annual fundraising campaign up to $100,000.
Volunteers in Medicine received more than $150,000 in corporate and private donations from its campaign.
Despite the introduction of the Affordable Care Act, there still are a significant number of working people and families without basic medical insurance, because they cannot afford the co-pays or deductibles.
For an estimated 75,000 working poor in Duval County, medical care comes only after feeding their family, providing shelter and clothing, and paying utility bills.
To qualify for services at Volunteers in Medicine, families and people who work at least 20 hours per week and have an annual income between $13,000 and 250 percent of federal poverty guidelines, which is $29,500 for a single-parent household.
Volunteers in Medicine is a nonprofit founded in 2003.
Its full service clinic Downtown sees patients five days a week including Saturdays and is funded by grants and private and individual donations. The clinic receives no federal funding.
The clinic has more than 230 medical and non-clinical healthcare professionals who volunteer their time, which results in more than $1.2 million in free healthcare services.
For more information, visit vim-jax.org or call (904) 399-2766.
Home run for BairFind Foundation
Jacksonville-based nonprofit, The BairFind Foundation, has secured a partnership with Minor League Baseball and Minor League Baseball Charities to place its “BairFind Signs” in every minor league baseball stadium in America.
As Minor League Baseball Charities’ newest Homegrown Charity Partner, BairFind is expanding the search for missing children through sports-based marketing.
“This summer, millions of baseball fans across the country will be enlisted in the search for missing kids. With BairFind Signs in MiLB stadiums, we will revolutionize the search for missing children in 2016,” said BairFind founder Dennis Bair, a former minor league pitcher for the Chicago Cubs.
The signs feature missing children specific to each team’s region.
To date, BairFind has featured 278 missing children at 40 ballparks, 65 of whom have been safely located.
City Rescue Mission graduation is March 18
Friends and family will gather to celebrate City Rescue Mission’s spring graduating class at 7 p.m. March 18 in the Wayne M. Densch Chapel at the mission’s McDuff Avenue campus.
More than 20 eligible graduates will be recognized for completing a program that addressed their emotional, spiritual, medical, social, educational and economic needs.
Included in the ceremony will be the graduation address by the Rev. Karl Hodges Sr. of Central Baptist Institutional Church.
The mission also will present an award to attorney Blane McCarthy and the Christian Legal Society, a community partner, for providing pro bono legal services to students.
March to Get Screened 5K race is Sunday
Hundreds of people will run down Jacksonville Beach at 9 a.m. Sunday to help find a cure for colon cancer in the annual March to Get Screened 5K.
The race helps raise awareness of the importance of colon cancer screenings, noting that a colonoscopy can prevent colon cancer from starting.
Colon cancer is 90 percent curable if detected early. It is the second leading cause of death from cancer in the United States, expected to cause more than 50,000 deaths this year.
Donations will be accepted for the Borland-Groover Clinic Foundation for Research and Education, which helps educate the community about digestive health issues and research to fight illnesses.
Last year, the event raised more than $20,000 for the foundation.
Registration will begin at 8 a.m. The race starts on the beach at the Jacksonville Beach Fishing Pier at 9 a.m. and ends at 20th Avenue South. Registration includes a T-shirt and medal.
For more information, visit 1stplacesports.com or to register, visit marchtogetscreened.com.