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Last November, 12-year-old Pinecrest resident Jordan Diamond took a trip to Florida City with his father Seth. The outing had a huge impact on the young Palmetto Middle School seventh grader.
The father and son’s destination that day was Patches, a non-profit organization that offers daily healthcare to children with sub-acute and chronic conditions. Many of the children come from families who cannot afford the kind of care their little ones require.
The experience of visiting Patches that day tugged at Jordan’s heartstrings and he decided to do something to help. And just like that, the idea of JordanBowl, a Pinecrest youth flag football tournament to benefit Patches, was hatched.
“I visited Patches during Thanksgiving break with my Dad. There were lots of kids with disabilities,” Jordan said. “Most people just donate money, but I wanted to be different and combine one of my favorite things — sports — with doing good.”
More than 60 boys and girls donned JordanBowl T-shirts and participated in the inaugural flag football tournament on Jan. 8 at Pinecrest’s Flagler Grove Park, with all proceeds benefitting Patches.
“The event was really awesome because of the unbelievable community support we received,” explained Jordan’s mother, Jill. “One of the steps to be taken prior to his Bar Mitzvah is to do something that gives back to the community, and Jordan worked very hard for a wonderful cause. We’re so proud of him.”
JordanBowl raised more than $2,600 for Patches, which relies heavily upon donations to provide its services. Kona Ice also showed up and donated 10 percent of the day’s proceeds to Patches.
According to Jill Diamond, to make JordanBowl a success required the coaching and support of a group of Palmetto Senior High School boys and a bunch of dads, and an army of youthful social media posters to spread the word on Instagram.
“Like most people who visit Patches, it’s hard see the facility and walk away without getting involved in some way,” said Jennifer Rodriguez, who serves as a nurse and development manager for the organization. “I was at JordanBowl and it was a wonderful experience to see the community come together for a great cause.”
The day of football and fun had a profound impact on everyone involved, all of whom knew they were there to make the lives of children of Patches a little better.
“It made me feel very good to help them,” Jordan said.
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