Winter, Spring Duval Co. School Sports Still Looking to Raise Money

This story is from WJXT in Jacksonville, but it is the same story all over the country.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It appears golf and cross-country, the fall high school sports in Duval County that were on the chopping block, will be saved, thanks to the help of Jacksonville residents, businesses and fundraisers.

But the fight to save other school sports is far from over. The work is on now to raise money to fund six winter and spring varsity sports and JV soccer.

1st Place Sports sells everything a runner needs. And to the store's owner, Doug Alred, running is more than a sport; it's a crucial part of the city. So when Alred found out cross-country was being cut from Duval County schools, he had to help. "Jacksonville's rated such a, one of the top running cities in the country, we felt like this couldn't be," Alred said. "We couldn't let cross-country go out of our city."

1st Place Sports has done a variety of fundraisers to help save cross-country. In June, $5 was donated to the cross-country budget for every pair of shoes sold.

Alred also held a charity run and solicited donations on the store's website. 1st Place Sports raised about $60,000, enough to save cross-country this school year. The PGA has done the same thing with golf fundraisers. The golf budget will reach its goal of raising at least $60,000 by the Aug. 1 deadline to save high school golf. "The community has really stepped up and tried to help, and a lot of these are not parents of our kids," said John Fox, the school district's athletic director. "These are people that care about sports and understand the importance of sports in our schools."

The fundraising is far from over. JV soccer is trying to raise money by mid-October, slow-pitch softball and wrestling by Nov. 1, and lacrosse and tennis by Dec 1. Wrestling, lacrosse and tennis each need about $70,000 to be saved. Junior varsity soccer needs about $65,000, and slow-pitch softball needs about $34,000. Fox is expecting several large business donors to come through.

But the donations are just for this year. "Is it overwhelming to think that you have to do this all again next year?" Channel 4's Kristen Cosby asked Fox. "It's overwhelming to think we have to do it all this year," Fox said. He said the district will likely charge students to play sports next year.

Whatever happens, Alred believes the community will continue to rally to save school sports.

"All those sports just build character in the people," he said. "They put out an effort. They achieve things, and once they achieve things, it gives them such a good feeling about themselves."