JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A local grocer is helping send military families to college.
Winn-Dixie gave Folds of Honor a $550,000 donation Friday morning — with some other surprises along the way.
“This is an unbelievable heroic mission,” Folds of Honor Chief Development Officer Ben Leslie said.
The over half million dollars from Winn-Dixie is now in the hands of Folds of Honor, an organization that helps out military families.
“I got up early this morning. This is one of the highlights of our year at Folds of Honor,” Leslie said.
This donation will assist in sending over 100 kids to college.
“It’s very important for us to help provide an avenue to help with that education to take some of that financial burden off those families,” Winn-Dixie’s District Director Jason Colwell said.
After the initial gift at the Winn-Dixie on Normandy, the day was not quite over.
The Smith house was the next stop.
Lionel Smith served for four years in the U.S. Navy as an aviation electrician. Then, Folds of Honor and Winn-Dixie showed up at his door.
Lionel’s sons Kamari and Kalani, were the recipients of $5,000 scholarships.
“Well I can’t say I was expecting it,” Kamari said.
A surprise that will help the Smith brothers kick-start their future.
“Being able to start off your life without that burden of debt and being able to just start from scratch being able to build up and do it and needs to do. Both of them have that opportunity,” Janeen Smith, Kamari and Kalani’s mom, said.
Kamari is going into his senior year at Trinity Baptist College. Kalani hopes to eventually go to Florida State and study business.