JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Rashard Hall saw a need in the St. Augustine community and wanted to do something about it.
That urge to do something turned into the West Augustine Foundation in 2016 and later rebranded itself as the Tarek Odom West Augustine Foundation to honor the former star defensive player at St. Augustine High School.
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The mission began as something to help school-age students with things like back-to-school charity events but has also evolved to meet different needs in the community. Its recent golf tournament at Royal St. Augustine raised more than $23,000 which will go back into the community in the form of educational and entrepreneurial scholarships.
Hall, a former St. Augustine football player who went on to play four seasons at Clemson and now works at the university, said that it was important to the foundation to adjust when it sees different needs. Instead of being hyper focused on just school-age initiatives, Hall said that he and the board expanded on its vision.
“For this one, we really wanted to revise our mission, give scholarships and breed more business support, not just high school students,” Hall said.
“Everybody’s path is different. We understand the benefit of a college education, but it doesn’t happen for everybody. You can have the same success whether you go to college or not. We want to encourage more people and businesses. The community is underserved, not undertalented.”
The golf tournament earlier this month — won by the team of Damon Harris, John Hess, Larry Upson, Greg Martin — had 43 sponsors behind it. It raised an additional $1,400 during an auction. That money will continue to be pumped back into the community.
“It could be anything. It could be someone going back to further their education, or a 23-, 25-year-old mom or a single parent going back to school who wants to start a business in the community,” Hall said. “We want to be able to be a seed, a financial seed, for that person.”
Hall and the board renamed the foundation in 2018 in honor of Odom, a former star at St. Augustine High School who was the area’s defensive player of the year in 2010. He went on to play four seasons in college at Wofford and was a two-time All-Southern Conference defensive lineman with the Terriers. Odom died suddenly during a flag football game in 2017 when he was 24.