JAX PAL needs your help sending 11 kids to the Junior Olympics

The Jacksonville Police Athletic League is working to send 11 children to the Junior Olympics.

The student athletes have been training hard on the track at Mallison Park.

“They have just practiced and worked real hard to get to this level and they haven’t stopped,” Patrick I. Bryant, PAL’s athletic program director, said. “They just keep going and going and going.”

PAL leaders tell Action News Jax that the students on the track team have already won 248 medals at track meets this season.

The only thing stopping them from going for gold at the Junior Olympics in Des Moines, Iowa is the cost.

“These kids could be sitting inside playing video games all day or getting into some type of trouble but this keeps them on a positive track,” Deirdre Wiggs said.

Her 8-year-old grandson qualified to go to Des Moines.

She said aside from his success as an athlete, PAL has also helped him build positive relationships with police officers.

“It lets (the kids) know they can trust the police and there are really good cops out there,” she said. “Everyone is not out to get them.”

PAL Executive Director Lakesha Burton said the organization serves more than 2,000 children in Jacksonville.

“Helping kids really see beyond their circumstances. See beyond the communities they live in and give them the opportunity to follow their dreams,” she said.

If you or someone you know wants to help send the athletes to the Junior Olympics, you can donate on the JAX PAL website.​

Note in the comment box that you want your donation to go to the track team.

Cox Media Group