Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau was one of the most joyful and generous people to play football during his two decades in the NFL. His happy demeanor on and off the field was what made the Southern California native’s suicide so shocking in 2012. But now, on top of having a bust in Canton, Ohio and a laundry list of accolades, Junior’s legacy has a new opportunity to live on with the Junior Seau Foundation Adaptive Surf Program.
Seau was a lifelong avid surfer, so the partnership between The Junior Seau Foundation and the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) is a perfect way to honor his memory. It’s all been made possible thanks to a $250,000 check the CAF recieved from Seau’s foundation this week. The funds will be used to buy surfboards, wave skis, beach wheelchairs, gear and a custom trailer for equipment that will all give young children with physical challenges the chance to enjoy surfing. But beyond just introducing surfing to kids who otherwise might not have the chance, the goal of CAF is for the new surf program to grow adaptive surfing globally as it aspires to become a Paralympic sport.
“On behalf of the Junior Seau Foundation, we believe this gift of $250,000 will be a transformative seed investment to enable CAF to accelerate and grow the newly named Junior Seau Foundation Adaptive Surf Program, presented by CAF and to improve the lives of children and young adults,” says Executive Committee Director of the Junior Seau Foundation, Michael Kinkelaar. “We at the Foundation believe that Junior himself would be very happy with this gift to fund this innovative program.”
Now that the initial donation has given birth to a brand new program, the first kid’s camp will take place at July’s Switchfoot 2016 BRO-AM in San Diego.
