Social Responsibility

True champions pursue a worthy cause with as much as heart as they leave on the field or court.

As part of our training methodology, we believe it's crucial to develop more than high-performing student-athletes. We instill a strong belief in the importance of social responsibility. Each student-athlete is required to commit a set number of hours each academic year to community outreach and is encouraged to explore other ways he or she can give back.

Charitable organizations we partner with:

Latest Headlines

Friends of Jaclyn
“IMG Ascenders doing good on the field and off”

Josh Fisher suffers from acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a life-threatening pediatric illness. Through the Friends of Jaclyn, he is afforded the opportunity to become an honorary member of the Ascenders football team. Josh’s family says he spends the early part of his week chanting “I-M-G” and counting down the days until IMG Academy football games! As the first sport program to report to campus for the start of the school year, the football team had the opportunity to kick off this new relationship, but other sports are following suit. Read more about Josh's experience in our Latest Headlines.

We strive to develop leaders with a strong moral fiber who are models in the community. Past student-initiated outreach efforts have included raising money for Free the Children and building houses for Habitat for Humanity.

2014 President's Volunteer Service Award Recipient

Alfredo Escalera
Class	2012
Hometown	Arecibo, Puerto Rico
Team	Kansas City Royals

Alfredo Escalera embodies the IMG Academy belief that by helping others one also helps him- or herself. The IMG Academy graduate of 2012 and Kansas City Royals minor league player was awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2014. The Obama administration only awarded eight out of more than 45,000 UNICEF volunteers. Escalara was nominated for his education and mentorship assistance to underachieving elementary school students, working with a soccer Special Olympic team, providing food for the homeless and supporting UNICEF’s efforts worldwide.

“I have the selfish belief that by helping someone in peril to better his life, I am actually helping myself to be more joyful. For me, voluntary work is a shortcut to being blessed with amazing happiness.”

2014 Fullbright Research Grant Recipient

Alexandra Campbell-Ferrari
Class	2008
Hometown	Washington, DC
College	University of Alcala

Alexandra Campbell-Ferrari put her education and her dedication to social responsibility against some of the top researchers in the country when she applied--and won--a Fulbright research grant in 2014. Fulbright grants are one of the most prestigious academic achievements possible. Campbell-Ferrari plans to use the grant to study international water laws, seeking better models of cooperation between the U.S. and other countries. She will spend a year in Spain at the University of Alcala, one of the leading universities in the Spanish-speaking world, and will teach an undergraduate course on water law while in Spain.

“The more people we can educate, especially at the younger ages, about water issues, and the ways they can conserve, the better off we will all be in the future as it relates to watershed maintenance and restoration. It's my passion and it's what I'll be pursuing most of my life.”

2011 MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year

Zak Boggs
Class	2005
Hometown	Marietta, OH
College	University of South Florida

Zak Boggs, an IMG soccer program alumnus and Fulbright scholar, was awarded the 2011 MLS W.O.R.K.S Humanitarian of the Year award for his work in a cancer research lab at Children’s Hospital in Boston. Boggs used his degree in biomedical sciences from USF to help identify potential cancer diagnostics and prognostics and cancer-indicating proteins during his volunteer tenure at the Children’s Hospital. He also regularly visited during monthly team visits, and while attending the University of South Florida he volunteered with Moffitt Cancer Center and the Shriners Hospital in Tampa, Florida.