Nocatee school’s rotary club golfs for student homeless in St. Johns County

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A golf tournament was held in Nocatee Sunday morning for a good cause, as the Valley Ridge Academy Rotary Club looks to help address a growing, unexpected issue in the Nocatee area and across St. Johns County.

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“It’s amazing, in Nocatee you think of, that we have this incredible wealth and housing going on, but we there are kids in our area who do not have the financial resources for reliable housing night to night,” said Bob Wiltfong, chairman of the tournament.

“There are probably four, five hundred kids who are labeled as homeless under the McKinney-Vento Act [in St. John’s County],” added Denny Baldwin, co-chair of the rotary club’s “Save our Students” group.

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This is the first year of the rotary club’s charity golf tournament, however, it has already raised $20,000 in the months before Sunday’s event.

All the money raised will go toward addressing student homelessness in St. Johns County, however, Baldwin explained the funds raised will also help with the growing issue of students simply not being able to afford every day school expenses.

“They can’t afford to go on field trips, they can’t afford the extended day tuition, they may not even be able to afford medical equipment, eyeglasses.”

Now, Baldwin and Wiltfong say they hope to continue this event in years going forward, golfing for a good cause in Nocatee.

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