Thrilled to have Big Storm Brewery as one of our newest partners in 2023. They were tremendous in providing the hospitality for the Inaugural CFY Program Workshop on Jan 31 st . Big Storm will also be providing a selection of their locally crafted beers for the upcoming Banquet on the Beach as well as the Capogna Golf Tournament.
McMullen Booth Elementary kicked off the 2023 year for the CFY Title 1 Water Safety Swim Program. Lessons were held at the Longcenter Jan 30-Feb 10 with City of Clearwater. We currently have three more schools scheduled with City of Clearwater and look to add 2-3 more with City of Dunedin and Suncoast Y.
On Friday, April 22nd, friends and supporters of CFY gathered at the Sheraton Sand Key for Banquet on the Beach, CFY’s annual fundraiser and a special celebration of the organization’s 50 year anniversary.
CFY was officially chartered as a nonprofit organization by the State of Florida in February of 1972, but had been playing an active role in the community organizing youth athletic programming for 6 years prior. The 50th anniversary celebration was an opportunity to pay homage to the growth of the organization, transitioning from the role of organizer to funder and facilitator in recent years while expanding beyond Clearwater’s city limits to serve youth across Pinellas County.
Keeping with the “golden” anniversary theme, the evening’s program, emceed by Fox 13’s Walter Allen, featured awards presented to Pinellas County local Olympic gold medalists, Nicole Hailsett, recipient of the Outstanding Achievement in Sports Award, and Bobby Finke as the Frederick E. Fisher Champion for Youth. Finke provided a video acceptance, as he was en route to USA Nationals to qualify for the World Championships next year in Budapest the night of the event. Mr. Fisher, a founder of CFY still active today, was present at the event and received spontaneous standing ovation from the some 200 guests as current CFY Chair, Fred Miller, acknowledged his commitment and lasting vision.
Tracy West, President of Copperheads Charities and Tournament Director of the Valspar Championship, received the J. Warren Hughes Humanitarian Award on behalf of the Copperheads, who expect to invest over $2 million into the community in 2022.
Beyond the honored guests, the event was highlighted by an impressive display of seafood on ice, land and sea paella stations, and more culinary delights curated by the Sheraton Sand Key as guests mingled through sunset on Clearwater’s trademark powder white sands.
Banquet on the Beach is a new adaptation of CFY’s legacy “Celebrity Banquet”, by which it was last named in late February of 2020. As the overall landscape of special events underwent major forced overhauls due to the global pandemic, CFY’s Banquet Committee made the intentional decision to transition from the ballroom to the beach in the spring of 2021 in order to maintain connections with donors and share developments of the organization in a socially conscious way.
Supporters can expect Banquet on the Beach to return each spring as CFY’s principal annual fundraiser supporting the mission of elevating the youth of Pinellas County through access to skill building programs where children of all backgrounds can learn, play, and grow together. For more information on partnering with CFY, click here
For the second year in a row, CFY hosted the Breakfast at the Ballpark recognizing this year’s class of Richard O. Jacobson Postsecondary Scholarship Program honorees and their generous sponsors.
On Wednesday, March 9th, 2022, 26 Pinellas County students joined at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater to celebrate their achievements as recipients of Richard O. Jacobson Postsecondary Scholarships. On an otherwise gray morning, the club level of BayCare Ballpark was shining bright as the honorees and their families met scholarship sponsors, along with CFY’s Board of Trustees, local civic and education leaders, and other scholarship recipients. Students and sponsors connected over breakfast to get acquainted and discuss plans for the future.
The event’s program, emceed by 10 Tampa Bay’s Evan Closky, included a personal invocation by Mayor Hibbard, encouraging remarks by CFY Chairman, Fred Miller, and many candid mentions of each honoree by the Scholarship Committee’s Chair, Dawn Daugherty. John Timberlake, Director of Florida Operations for the Phillies and longtime CFY Board Trustee, offered a warm welcome as the host and acknowledgement of members of the Phillies front office in special attendance.
In addition to the Phillies countless contributions to the success of this event, a $10,000 David P. Montgomery Memorial Scholarship was awarded to an outstanding young softball player, presented by Lyn Montgomery. Among the 26 awards, other notable memorial scholarships include the Don Zimmer Memorial Scholarship presented by Jean ‘Soot’ Zimmer, and the Angelo Dundee Memorial Scholarship presented by Jim Dundee.
A total of $153,000 in postsecondary scholarships were honored at Breakfast at the Ballpark, 100% of which will go directly to the student via their postsecondary institution. Read more about this year’s ROJ Postsecondary Scholarship Program in our latest press release, and check out 10 Tampa Bays coverage of the event here.
April held every golf enthusiast’s most treasured weekend: The Masters. All of the excitement had us thinking about one of our long time partners, the Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation, an exceptional resource for children in Pinellas County. Setting them up for success in Augusta? Potentially. Setting them up for success in life? Absolutely.
Local golfers are generally familiar with the Chi Chi Rodriguez driving range and golf course, known for it’s affordability, accessibility, and the PGA pro and co-founder for which it is named. But there’s much more to this story than another place to practice your swing or get in a round on the 69-par course “in time to make it home for dinner”, as they say.
Thanks to the vision of founders Chi Chi Rodriguez, Bob James, and Bill Hayes, the Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation was established in 1979 with the mission of educating students and improving their academic performance, self-esteem, and character by using the golf course as a living classroom. There are, in fact, real classrooms that can be seen upon arriving at the facility – a main building and portables that house students from fourth through eighth grade – all of which make up the Chi Chi Academy.
The students that attend Chi Chi Academy have been identified as struggling and/or high risk of dropping out. At Chi Chi, these students are given the opportunity to learn and develop in a unique environment with more personalized attention. In addition to traditional academics taught by Pinellas County teachers, students learn through horticulture, birding, job shadowing, and behavior-based “earnings” to spend at the on-site store, supplied with a variety of donated items. Furthermore, each week the students are brought out onto the course to further develop a life skill that can be understood and emphasized through the game of golf, such as judgment.
This unique construction of education has proven to work, with Academy students consistently outperforming the Pinellas County District midterm testing average. After moving on to high school, 78% of all previously at-risk students go on to graduate.
In addition to Chi Chi Academy, the Youth Foundation also operates the First Tee – Clearwater, another branch to offer children around the area from ages 5-17 more skill-building lessons, in golf and in life, with scholarships available to meet those in need.
So yes, there is more to this course than another perfect day of golfing in the sunshine state. Over a fifth of the funding for the Youth Foundation’s programs is furnished through the golf club and driving range. In golf, as in all athletics, practice makes perfect. At Chi Chi, that practice truly makes a difference.Local golfers are generally familiar with the Chi Chi Rodriguez driving range and golf course, known for it’s affordability, accessibility, and the PGA pro and co-founder for which it is named. But there’s much more to this story than another place to practice your swing or get in a round on the 69-par course “in time to make it home for dinner”, as they say.
Thanks to the vision of founders Chi Chi Rodriguez, Bob James, and Bill Hayes, the Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation was established in 1979 with the mission of educating students and improving their academic performance, self-esteem, and character by using the golf course as a living classroom. There are, in fact, real classrooms that can be seen upon arriving at the facility – a main building and portables that house students from fourth through eighth grade – all of which make up the Chi Chi Academy.
The students that attend Chi Chi Academy have been identified as struggling and/or high risk of dropping out. At Chi Chi, these students are given the opportunity to learn and develop in a unique environment with more personalized attention. In addition to traditional academics taught by Pinellas County teachers, students learn through horticulture, birding, job shadowing, and behavior-based “earnings” to spend at the on-site store, supplied with a variety of donated items. Furthermore, each week the students are brought out onto the course to further develop a life skill that can be understood and emphasized through the game of golf, such as judgment.
This unique construction of education has proven to work, with Academy students consistently outperforming the Pinellas County District midterm testing average. After moving on to high school, 78% of all previously at-risk students go on to graduate.
In addition to Chi Chi Academy, the Youth Foundation also operates the First Tee – Clearwater, another branch to offer children around the area from ages 5-17 more skill-building lessons, in golf and in life, with scholarships available to meet those in need.
So yes, there is more to this course than another perfect day of golfing in the sunshine state. Over a fifth of the funding for the Youth Foundation’s programs is furnished through the golf club and driving range. In golf, as in all athletics, practice makes perfect. At Chi Chi, that practice truly makes a difference.
Clearwater For Youth is proud to partner with the Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation, aligning our missions to uplift young people and set them up for success later in life, using athletic activity as a cornerstone. We look forward to returning this year for our annual Capogna Golf Fundraiser – keep an eye out for the date in the coming weeks! Until then, visit Chi Chi’s website for more information and ways to get involved.
This post was included in our April 2021 newsletter, FYI on CFY. Enter your email below to get first access to great content like this and all other important news from the CFY huddle!
Baseball is known as the American pastime, and while impressive ballparks can be found all over the country, the joy of soaking in 9 innings on a beautiful spring day is something Floridians are particularly familiar with. Right here in Pinellas County, we are blessed each spring season with plenty of options for professional baseball activity, but nothing says spring quite like little league.
Founded in 1955, Clearwater Little League (CLL) is one of a few robust local leagues in our area that offers baseball and softball programs for boys and girls. Teams range from T-Ball (ages 4-6) to Seniors (ages 14-16) for baseball, and AA (ages 5-8) to Seniors (ages 13-16) for softball, collectively reaching over 300 families each year.
A member of Little League International, it is stated in their constitution that the objective of their league must be to implant the ideals of good sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty, courage and respect for authority in all children. CLL’s commitment to this is not only apparent through the success of their teams on the field, but in the support garnered from all around our community.
In addition to more than 20 baseball and softball teams, over 10 more teams make up CLL’s Challenger Division. The Challenger Division is another extension of Little league International which provides children and adults with physical or mental challenges the opportunity to play, and further captures the league’s commitment to positive growth and development for all. In February, the program lost one of its greatest champions, Jim Scheuerman, the division’s vice president and a board member for over 20 years. Jim was a friend to all involved and his passion was undeniable, and this program will continue to thrive in his memory and honor.
After a difficult year, little leagues across the country celebrated opening day in late February. In Clearwater, 30+ teams enjoyed a day of fun and sportsmanship in the sunshine, dedicated to Jim. A day that certainly set the tone for what was to come for the league and its young athletes with a busy March schedule just around the corner.
On Monday, March 29th, the Clearwater Emeralds won the Greater Largo Little League’s 14th Annual Spring Tournament 9-0 after a stacked week of games competing against teams from all over the county. CLL is slotted to host a majors tournament that kicks off Thursday, April 8th, with Another AAA tournament just behind on Saturday, April 10th in Dunedin.
To stay up to date on all the activity, visit their website or Facebook page. You can also learn more about the Challenger League by reading this article from the archives, which includes quotes from Jim Scheuerman himself. CFY is honored to have worked with Jim and the entire CLL organization over the years.
This post was included in our March 2021 newsletter, FYI on CFY. Enter your email below to get first access to great content like this and all other important news from the CFY huddle!
On Friday March 5th at Banquet on the Beach, the Countryside Junior Cougars and Clearwater Lady Bombers were presented the Karen Aungst Inspiration Award for Youth Coaching & Mentoring.
Each year, Clearwater For Youth offers an opportunity for special funding to our partner organizations through the Karen Aungst Inspiration Award for Youth Coaching/Mentoring. This program was founded in memorium of Karen Aungst, who passed away in May 2018 after a brave battle with brain cancer. In her lifetime, Karen was a leader in the Clearwater community who believed in providing coaches and mentors the skills and support they need to make a positive impact on the youth in our area. Her legacy lives on through this award, which was this year presented to the Clearwater Lady Bombers and Countryside Junior Cougars.
The Clearwater Lady Bombers, led by president Jerry King, is a youth softball program comprised of 12 teams, around 150 girls, and 40 coaches. This is the third year the Bombers have been awarded this grant; in the past, putting it to use through coaching seminars at USF with USA Olympic Head Coach Ken Erikson, as well as rules clinics with the UIC for USA and PGF softball where they have been able to gain important skills that make them even better assets to their players in practices and games.
The Countryside Junior Cougars, led by president Jessica Anderson, is a football and cheerleading program for boys and girls ages 4 through 15. There are 74 Cougars coaches for 276 young athletes, each tasked with creating a family of their teams by leading by example and prioritizing good sportsmanship and community involvement. Through this grant, CJC will further their goal of pushing coaches to grow with the players – a vision that extends beyond the techniques to embodying positive role models.
On behalf of the Aungst family and CFY Board of Trustees, we would like to congratulate these organizations and applaud their dedication to dynamic and impactful youth sports programs. We look forward to working together on the implementation of these grants!
This post was included in our February 2021 newsletter, FYI on CFY. Enter your email below to get first access to great content like this and all other important news from the CFY huddle!
On Thursday, February 25th, CFY hosted Breakfast at the Ballpark at the home of the Philadelphia Phillies Spring Training and the Clearwater Threshers, BayCare Ballpark (freshly renamed that same day) to recognize this year’s class of 18 Richard O. Jacobson Postsecondary Scholarship recipients and 15 Excellence In Youth Sportsmanship winners.
As with so many things this past year, we were tasked with being a little more creative in order to hang onto long-standing traditions and offer the honorees the recognition they certainly deserve. Typically, these awards would be recognized at CFY’s annual Celebrity Banquet, but in efforts to comply with CDC and local guidelines for gathering and social distancing, we took the opportunity to break out this ceremony into a stand-alone event – something that has long been discussed within the CFY huddle. After all, they are the are the stars of our show.
Thanks to our friends over at the Phillies & Threshers, we were able to host this special event at their facility right here in Clearwater, keeping within the sports theme and giving our guests the opportunity to revel in an environment that has been out of reach for nearly a year. Scholarship recipients and their families were able to meet their sponsors, EIYS students with fellow athletes and City of Clearwater officials, all while their accomplishments were displayed on the jumbotron throughout the morning.
This year, the Richard O. Jacobson Postsecondary Scholarship Program reached 16 Pinellas County High Schools and over 80 applicants before being narrowed down to the final 18. Thanks to our sponsors and their commitment to this program and the children it serves, we were able to award $115,000 in scholarships, which we look forward to delivering to the institution of the students’ choosing on their pursuit of higher education or vocational training this fall.
CFY is also excited to announce that after many years of partnership with the City of Clearwater on the Excellence in Youth Sportsmanship, we will be furthering our involvement in the monthly activities these athletes are offered in tandem with their award. We look forward to sharing more details in the coming months, so stay tuned for more information and opportunities to get involved.
CFY extends heartfelt appreciation to our ROJ Scholarship sponsors for investing in the futures of this year’s 18 students: The Barris Family, BayStar Restaurant Group, Capogna Family/Capogna’s Dugout, Clearwater Gas System, Clearwater Lady Bombers, Clearwater Police Department, Dealers Auction Xchange of Tampa Bay, Dell, Doganiero Foundation, E*Star Roofing, Drs. Kiran & Pallavi Patel Family Foundation, Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, Priority One Clearing Services, Simpson Air, Michele Smith & Disney, TAG Agency of Pinellas, Tampa Bay Rays.
This post was included in our February 2021 newsletter, FYI on CFY. Enter your email below to get first access to great content like this and all other important news from the CFY huddle!
On January 17th, members of all 11 Clearwater Bullets teams gathered at Eddie C. Moore for an Organizational Day, the first of its kind in Bullets history.
The Clearwater Bullets was founded in 1995 as a nonprofit Level A fastpitch softball organization, cosponsored by the City of Clearwater. Today, the 11 teams encompass athletes ages 9-18. In addition to having teams succeed year over year in state, national, and international competitions, this program is focused on ensuring both academic and athletic excellence of young women.
This month’s Organizational Day was a perfect example of that, as coaches facilitated small group peer-to-peer style drills and tryouts, having the older athletes lead those from the younger teams. The event was something John Klinefelter, president of the organization, has envisioned for over a decade. With the distance and detachment the girls have experienced over the last year, he and the rest of the Bullets’ leadership made it a priority to finally make the fun, safety-conscious, team building day happen.
The gathering was a great success and came on the heels of more fantastic news as 3 teams recently qualified to compete in USA Softball’s Junior Olympic Cup this summer in Columbus, Georgia. The Bullets will have a team competing in each division (14U-Patton, 16U-Wilkes, 18U-Klinefelter), a massive accomplishment for an organization of this size.
The prioritization of teamwork and sportsmanship on display as all teams and ages worked together make it clear why this organization and their players have been recognized as exceptional at so many levels in the sport of softball.
Through a recent grant cycle, CFY was able to provide funding toward additional equipment for this growing organization that was distributed to the teams and used during this event. For more information on the grant process and becoming a partner organization, please visit our Partners page or send us an email.
This post was included in our January 2021 newsletter, FYI on CFY. Enter your email below to get first access to great content like this and all other important news from the CFY huddle!
Don’t miss Clearwater For Youth’s Banquet on the Beach, this year’s reimagined Celebrity Banquet, an open-air event on the sands of the Sheraton. Join us for an evening of friends and philanthropy with a refreshing change of scenery! Keep an eye on your email as invitations this year will only be electronic.
You will be able to participate in the silent auction and other forms of giving directly from your smartphone at the event, or even from home! We are working hard to ensure this event is unique, safe, and successful as we strive to meet the increased demands for assistance spurred by the pandemic. We are so grateful to our supporters and friends, and look forward to seeing you on the beach!
Please contact daniela@clearwaterforyouth.org for sponsorship opportunities and other inquiries.
