On Wednesday, November 16, Watson Ponte Vedra’s very own Murray Beard, along with his fellow Red Coats, presented a $10,000.00 grant to the Jacksonville School for Autism’s (JSA) garden project. With the money, the school will build new gardens and add more raised vegetable beds to their already growing outdoor space. The Players Championship’s Red Coats, who are past volunteer chairpersons involved in charity work, announced the grant while joining the students in a gardening activity to celebrate.
The JSA is a non-profit, private school established in 2005 as a full-service K-12 educational center for children with autism and it expanded to Jacksonville’s southside two years ago.
The goal of the JSA gardening program, which has been going strong for about six years, is to get kids more involved with gardening, which will provide vocational training, build self-esteem, and get them interested in eating fruits and vegetables. The garden currently includes raised vegetable beds, a butterfly garden, and an herb-retaining wall.
Kayne McPhillips, the Garden Program Director for the JSA stated, “I’ve had parents come to us in tears because their students have tried vegetables for the first time and it just comes from that sense of ownership of when you grow it, you own it and you wanna try it,” he said. “It’s really impactful.”
The Red Coats is a committee of past golf tournament chairpersons who served on THE PLAYERS’ volunteer leadership team and each year, approximately 2,000 volunteers support all facets of the championship. The Jacksonville School for Autism marks one of 75 total recipients of Red Coat Grants this year.
Autism currently affects one in every 44 children. To learn more about the Jacksonville School for Autism, please visit here.
Thank you for your involvement in this brilliant cause, Mr. Beard!
The goal of the JSA gardening program, which has been going strong for about six years, is to get kids more involved with gardening, which will provide vocational training, build self-esteem, and get them interested in eating fruits and vegetables. The garden currently includes raised vegetable beds, a butterfly garden, and an herb-retaining wall.
Kayne McPhillips, the Garden Program Director for the JSA stated, “I’ve had parents come to us in tears because their students have tried vegetables for the first time and it just comes from that sense of ownership of when you grow it, you own it and you wanna try it,” he said. “It’s really impactful.”
The Red Coats is a committee of past golf tournament chairpersons who served on THE PLAYERS’ volunteer leadership team and each year, approximately 2,000 volunteers support all facets of the championship. The Jacksonville School for Autism marks one of 75 total recipients of Red Coat Grants this year.
Autism currently affects one in every 44 children. To learn more about the Jacksonville School for Autism, please visit here.
Thank you for your involvement in this brilliant cause, Mr. Beard!
