JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Delores Weaver may be moving out of her office at EverBank Field, but she says her heart and her charity will remain in Jacksonville. "Well, we try to help as many organizations as we can that have worthy causes."
The Weaver Family Foundation has given $20 million to the Jacksonville community over the years, much of it through the Jaguars Foundation, which supports socially and economically disadvantaged youth. Mrs.Weaver said, "To date, on our grants that we will approve at our board meeting, will bring the Jaguars Foundation contributions to a little more than $15 million. So, we're very proud to be able to do that."
Former coach Jack Del Rio, has made a commitment to Jacksonville's children as well. His foundation has given grants to organizations that support abused kids, as well as those that offer educational assistance. When we spoke to the coach yesterday, he said the Jack Del Rio Foundation will finish what it's started, but with the news that he lost his job still fresh, he said he hasn't had time to think of the charity's future. "The kids, their needs don't change, so we'll continue to give to those kids that need it," said Del Rio.
You don't have to coach the Jags to continue to serve the community, as proven with Tom Coughlin's Jay Fund Foundation. Through the direction of his daughter, Keli, it's still thriving in Ponte Vedra, raising a half million dollars last year alone to help local families with children who have cancer pay their bills. Keli Coughlin Joyce said, "It really has nothing to do with who Tom Coughlin coaches or doesn't coach. Once we focused on the children, that was really all that mattered."
So as the Weaver reign ends at EverBank Field, Mrs. Weaver reflects on her time there with a smile and some sadness. "It's just bittersweet, you know, because we will miss it. I say we'll have withdrawal symptoms probably. But the timing is right and the people are right. "
And she hopes that under new ownership, the Jaguars will be known as much for their philanthropy as for their football.
To learn more about the foundations associated with the Jaguars, go to the following websites:
For the Jaguars Foundation, go to www.jaguars.com.
For Tom Coughlin's Jay Fund Foundation, go to www.
tcjayfund.org/
