Volunteers from Sam's Club, former Jacksonville Jaguars star's foundation help homeless

Beth Reese Cravey, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union
·1 min read
Sam's Club volunteers prepare meals at Sulzbacher, a Jacksonville nonprofit that serves the homeless.
Sam's Club volunteers prepare meals at Sulzbacher, a Jacksonville nonprofit that serves the homeless.

About 65 volunteers from Jacksonville-area Sam's Clubs and two local community organizations joined forces for a day of cleaning and landscaping at Sulzbacher, a local nonprofit that serves the homeless.

As part of the company's third annual nationwide Day of Service, about 30 of their employees helped clean the downtown facility inside and out, planted flowers, mulched flower beds, served food and handed out clothing to residents, according to spokesman Steve Zapata.

Also helping out were about 35 volunteers from the Donovin Darius Foundation, founded by the former Jacksonville Jaguar to host leadership and life skills camps for youth and their families, and B.O.L.D. Endeavors, which was established by Darius' brother Eugene Darius to hold outreach events providing meals and clothing for the homeless.

Volunteers from Jacksonville-area Sam's Club and two local organizations, the Donovin Darius Foundation and B.O.L.D. Endeavors, pose for a group photo at a work service day at Sulzbacher, a nonprofit that serves the homeless.
Volunteers from Jacksonville-area Sam's Club and two local organizations, the Donovin Darius Foundation and B.O.L.D. Endeavors, pose for a group photo at a work service day at Sulzbacher, a nonprofit that serves the homeless.

Sam's Club, a division of Walmart, also gave $1,500 worth of food to Sulzbacher and $1,000 grants to the agency and to the Darius brothers' efforts. In fiscal 2024, the company gave about $27,000 in grants to various Jacksonville organizations and donated about 1.7 million pounds of food to Feeding Northeast Florida.

Sam's Club and its employees are committed "to making a positive impact in the community," Zapata said.

"We are thrilled to have Sam’s Club and the Donovin Darius Foundation as partners in our mission to end homelessness in Jacksonville," Sulzbacher President Cindy Funkhouser said. "Volunteers are a powerful part of our operations … We could not accomplish as much as we do without the support of volunteers from the community

Volunteers from Sam's Club and two nonprofits, the Donovin Darius Foundation and B.O.L.D. Endeavors, distribute clothing to clients at the Sulzbacher homelessness nonprofit's downtown Jacksonville center.
Volunteers from Sam's Club and two nonprofits, the Donovin Darius Foundation and B.O.L.D. Endeavors, distribute clothing to clients at the Sulzbacher homelessness nonprofit's downtown Jacksonville center.

Eugene Darius said a similar outreach event was planned for Sulzbacher Village at 44th and Pearl streets, which houses formerly homeless women, children and families. Such community work, he said, produces "the most fabulous feeling in the world."

Send Acts of Kindness submissions for consideration to bcravey@jacksonville.com

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Sam's Club, ex-Jacksonville Jaguars star Donovin Darius help homeless