Furyk & Friends and Nemours Children’s Health Unite to Support Blessings in a Backpack
From the fairways to the finish line, the Furyk family and Nemours Children’s Health are turning a love of golf into something much bigger: feeding kids on the weekends. Together, through the Constellation FURYK & FRIENDS presented by Circle K, their partnership has helped provide nearly 180,000 hunger-free weekends to children through Blessings in a Backpack, ensuring kids have access to food on the weekends.
Hosted by Jim and Tabitha Furyk through the Jim & Tabitha Furyk Foundation, the annual tournament blends competition, entertainment, and philanthropy while raising funds to support local and national charities. Under Tabitha’s leadership, the foundation continues to make a lasting difference, using the game of golf as a platform for good.
The weeklong event teed off with the Pro-Am on Monday, September 29, featuring golf greats including defending champion Rocco Mediate, 2023 champion Brett Quigley, and 2022 champion Steve Stricker. The tournament concluded Sunday, October 5, with the final round and trophy presentation.
One of the most anticipated moments of the week was Live on the Lawn, a private celebration following Thursday’s Official Pro-Am, sponsored by Nemours Children’s Health. The evening brought together sponsors, players, and community members for an intimate night of connection with Jim and Tabitha Furyk. Guests heard stories about the couple’s long-standing commitment to Blessings in a Backpack and were invited to write inspirational notes for the children supported by the program. The evening closed with a live performance by The Band Be Easy.
For Nemours Children’s Health, the event represents a shared vision for children’s well-being that extends beyond hospital walls. “Partnering with Blessings allows us to help fight childhood hunger,” said Paris Owens, assistant vice president, northeast Florida, Practice Administrator for Nemours Children’s Health. “Through this partnership, we’re able to provide weekend nutrition for more than 500 children across Jacksonville each week.”
Blessings in a Backpack, a national nonprofit, mobilizes communities and resources to provide bags of food for school-aged children who might otherwise go hungry on weekends. The cause has been close to the Furyk family’s heart since Jim’s early days on the PGA TOUR. Tabitha has been a longtime advocate for Blessings, both in Jacksonville and nationwide, through her involvement with the PGA TOUR Wives Association, which helps create a sustainable impact for children across the country.
Together, the Furyk family, Nemours Children’s Health, and Blessings in a Backpack are showing what is possible when sports, healthcare, and community come together with one shared goal: ensuring every child has the nutrition they need to grow, learn, and thrive.