Five local organizations have received donations totaling nearly $50,000 from Jacksonville Jaguars players following the 2001 season. The donations, which were distributed by a vote of the players, were part of the proceeds of fines that players incurred from the team during the 2001 season.
The five organizations which received donations were Wolfson Children's Hospital, The College Fund UNCF, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Teaching Tolerance, and the Touching Hands Foundation.
"This has been a program in which very positive things are being done," said Jaguars head coach Tom Coughlin. "It is important that the fines imposed on our players are going directly into this community, as they have been for seven years. No one likes having to pay a fine, but this has been a very good use of this money to benefit other people."
"We always want to direct this money to some of the important programs that are helping people in Jacksonville," Jaguars strong safety Donovin Darius said. "These are all organizations that are there to provide any kind of support where there are needs."
Each year the Jaguars players vote to determine how their fine money is to be distributed in the Jacksonville community. Every dollar of the players' fines is distributed in this way. This practice began with the team's first season in 1995.
