The Jaguars and the National Football League will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month beginning this week and continuing through October 15th with the Jaguars Hispanic Heritage Game scheduled for their week three matchup against the Texans on September 24.
The Texans game will be the penultimate event of the month but is hardly the entire celebration.
The Jaguars will host two Somos DUUUVAL youth football camps at Englewood Elementary School and at San Jose Elementary School. All campers to receive Somos DUUUVAL shirts and treated to appearances by Jaguars players, Jaxson de Ville and members of the ROAR.
The Jaguars will host a food distribution for the local Hispanic/Latino community in partnership with First Coast Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Feeding Northeast Florida. The food distribution will be held on Saturday, September 23rd at Iglesia Ciudad and it will benefit more than 250 families.
The centerpiece of Hispanic Heritage Month in Jacksonville will be the Texans game to which the Jaguars are donating more than 325 tickets to Hispanic community leaders, nonprofits and families. The halftime show will feature Venezuela Marka dance group bringing the Hispanic culture to thousands of Jaguars fans.
The centerpiece of that centerpiece is the announcement of the 2023 Somos DUUUVAL Community Leader Award. The Jaguars will announce Paul Martinez, the CEO and President of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida, as this year's award recipient.
Paul Martinez's commitment to the Boys and Girls Club of Northeast Florida and the impact he's made on youth in our community combined made him the perfect candidate for the Somos DUUUVAL Community Leader Award. Paul has consistently shown a passion and commitment to the Hispanic/Latino community by establishing programs for Jacksonville youth to share their stories and heritage during Hispanic Heritage Month. Martinez also started Boys and Girls Clubs internationally with a new location in Panama where he makes annual mission trips to give back to the Hispanic community beyond our borders. Paul will receive a custom award created by Soles by Sir and a $2500 grant back to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida and will also offer the FIRST DUUUVAL for game against the Texans.
The NFL and Hispanic Heritage Foundation have partnered for several years to recognize and celebrate Hispanic & Latino excellence in and around the NFL community. Whether it was featuring an impactful Latino leader or recognizing a standout youth for their athletic and academic excellence through the HHF's Youth Awards, the two organizations have collaborated to celebrate outstanding Latinos for many years. This season, the NFL and Hispanic Heritage Foundation will sustain this momentum by selecting and honoring outstanding Latino youth football players throughout the League's 32 Club markets. The reimagined program will highlight Latino excellence, while putting a focus on football and the next generation of fan and player.
The Jaguars have nominated: Brictani Platas from Orange Park High School and Santino Escobar from Paxon School for Advanced Studies as this year's NFL and Hispanic Heritage Foundation Youth Award nominees. Each student will receive custom awards made by Soles by Sir, Jaguars swag, a $1500 scholarship from the Jaguars Foundation and recognition at the Jaguars Hispanic Heritage Game. Platas and Escobar will advance to compete against the nominees from the 31 other NFL Clubs for national recognition at 2024 Pro Bowl and 2024 Super Bowl
The Jaguars celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month will conclude with the recognition of the Duval County Public Schools' Hispanic Heritage Essay Winners at EverBank Stadium and that evening the Jaguars will support 10 "Achieving the Dream" scholarships to deserving Hispanic/Latino students at the First Coast Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Achieving the Dreams Awards Gala. The 10 scholarship winners will also be recognized pre-game at the Jaguars Hispanic Heritage game.
