Today I have a bit of non-Soul related news to share with you all. The Jacksonville Sharks are teaming up with Second Harvest North Florida for the second year in a row in an effort to donate non-perishable canned goods to the organization. Second Harvest helps feed food-insecure households around the area through donations and various other means. Second Harvest distributed more than 20 million pounds of food last year to the 17 counties the organization serves.
The Sharks will host the New Orleans VooDoo on March 3rd at 12:30 p.m. for a free preseason contest two weeks before the Sharks first game and three weeks before the Sharks home opener. Admission will be free-of-charge, but fans are asked to bring a donation of non-perishable canned goods to the scrimmage. All canned goods will be collected outside of Sea Best Field as the event hopes to collect 15,000 pounds of donated food. Last year the same event collected 8,140 pounds of food, so the goal is to almost double the amount of donations.
This is just another example of why the AFL continues to exceed expectations when it comes to charitable events. AFL teams are able to really connect with their fan base and community in ways that more prolific sports leagues simply cannot. Free events are just about unheard of anywhere else and what makes these types of events possible you might ask? It's all because of the restructuring the AFL underwent back in 2009 and even though the players are making less, the team's charitable contributions are increasing.
Giving back to your fans and communities especially after coming off a championship season is something that many other AFL organizations should definitively look into. I don't see a reason why at least half of the teams cannot pull of an event like this once a year. It just makes someone like myself proud to be a fan of the AFL, a league that takes itself very seriously.
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