THE PLAYERS surprises St. Johns County homeless outreach center St. Francis House with $50K donation

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — THE PLAYERS Championship on Wednesday surprised a St. Johns County nonprofit that works to combat teen homelessness with a $50,000 donation.

Staff from THE PLAYERS traveled to the St. Francis Housing Crisis Center to go on what they said was a tour of the campus. At the end of the tour, THE PLAYERS surprised St. Francis House’s Executive Director Judith Dembowski with a $50,000 check.

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After saying many “thank yous,” Dembowski said she knew what she was going to do with the donation.

“I am going to earmark this for a youth outreach worker in the New Year,” she said.

Dembowski said this person will be part of St. Francis’ street outreach team.

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“We want to add a person that is going to specifically be out there trying to engage our homeless youth and get them to work toward a better future, change their trajectory. We don’t want our young people to end up episodically homeless or chronically homeless. We want to catch them early and build the supports around them that they need to end their homelessness for good,” Dembowski said.

THE PLAYERS said St. Francis House is the only program of its kind in the entire county, and they have been particularly impacted by the recent hurricanes as many of the people they serve have been displaced from their own homes, in addition to their own campus, which sustained significant damage.

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