The Palm Beach County Sports Commission honored 10 local nonprofit organizations during the 2021 PalmBeachSports Gives Awards on Monday, March 1 at Riviera Beach Marina Village Event Center. PalmBeachSports Gives, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission’s charitable giving program, donated a total of $20,000 to support these organizations and their sports programming. The funding for the annual program came from private donations collected by the PalmBeachSports Gives Committee.
The organizations that received 2021 PalmBeachSports Gives awards were Palm Beach County Police Athletic League, Palm Beach Gardens Youth Athletic Association, Arts4All Florida – Palm Beach County, Jupiter Tequesta Athletic Association, Student ACES, and First Tee – Palm Beaches.
Additionally, four organizations received funding through the 2021 Burt Aaronson Special Abilities Awards which supports organizations serving the community through sports, health, or fitness programs geared for youth, adults, and/or seniors with special needs. This year’s Burt Aaronson honorees were Future 6 Helping Hand Fund, Miracle League of Palm Beach County, Adolph and Rose Levis Jewish Community Center’s Schwedelson Special Needs Department, and Love Serving Autism.
PalmBeachSports Gives Awards
Palm Beach County PAL teams with the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office to provide free recreation and education programs to the youth of Palm Beach County. Palm Beach County PAL has been awarded funding to help cover the cost of uniforms and officials for both their basketball and football leagues.
Palm Beach Gardens Youth Athletic Association has promoted youth recreation in Palm Beach Gardens and surrounding communities since 1967. With the award, PBGYAA will establish the “Get Girls in the Game” program that will promote inclusion by offering new sports opportunities for girls in Palm Beach Gardens.
Arts4All Florida – Palm Beach County serves 1,400 children and adults with disabilities throughout Palm Beach County. The organization will use the award to fund contemporary dance residencies for the seven elementary schools and four high schools in Palm Beach County that Arts4All Florida serves.
Jupiter Tequesta Athletic Association provides recreational and competitive leagues for children ages 3 to 18 in Northern Palm Beach County. The award for the JTAA will be used to supply scholarships for families who would not otherwise be able to pay the registration fee.
Student ACES provides character education programs, mentoring, community service, and life skills for high school student-athletes in Palm Beach County. With the award, the organization will hold the Protect Our Girls (POG) program which will allow young women of color to learn self-defense.
First Tee – Palm Beaches creates programming to positively impact the lives of young people in Palm Beach County through the game of golf. The award will help First Tee distribute financial aid to students in need.
Burt Aaronson Special Abilities Awards
Future 6 Helping Hand Fund serves children in the special needs community, ages 4-17, through various surfing programs. Future 6 has a dire need to replace much of the surfing and event equipment that their award will go toward.
The Miracle League of Palm Beach County focuses on providing opportunities for all children to play baseball regardless of their ability. The Miracle League helps hundreds of players, caregivers, volunteers, coaches, and the community-at-large. The funding will help Miracle League to resume fee-free programming for all in need in Palm Beach County.
For over 25 years, the Adolph and Rose Levis Jewish Community Center’s Schwedelson Special Needs Department has held programming for individuals of all ages and abilities in Palm Beach County. With the award, the Center’s Special Needs Department will continue holding four fitness programs for those with special needs that include general fitness activities.
Love Serving Autism exists to expand life skills through specialized therapeutic tennis instruction for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental challenges. The organization, in partnership with the City of Palm Beach Gardens and the Palm Beach Gardens Tennis & Pickleball Center, will schedule a therapeutic summer tennis camp. The award will help offset the operating costs of the camp and to provide scholarships for participants.
Watch coverage of the check presentation event from WPTV:
