As an organization, our mission is to positively impact the Central Florida community, with a particular focus on those living in the historic West Lakes neighborhoods in the heart of the 32805 zip code.

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What if a stadium could really revitalize a neighborhood?

Inspired by the history and pride of the people who live in the shadow of the Camping World Stadium, Florida Citrus Sports has teamed with local business leaders to create LIFT Orlando, a research-driven organization whose goal is to ensure a lasting legacy for the residents and the region.

Implementing proven practices and investment strategies, LIFT Orlando seeks to build upon the strengths the people who call this area home and who have helped it become a proud and integral part of the city’s history. With your help, we will ensure our neighborhood continues to thrive and the investment in our stadium truly lifts all who visit and all who live alongside it.

Read more about LIFT Orlando at LIFTOrlando.org.

MVP Strong Families Program

The MVP Strong Families program, facilitated by the Polis Institute on behalf of Florida Citrus Sports and other key stakeholders, was established to strengthen families through direct engagement and strategic community partnerships.

The program aimed to create a comprehensive support network to cultivate parent advocacy, promote healthy child development, and provide accessible resources for caregivers and youth. Network members included early learning centers, schools, and family-serving organizations.

VIEW 2024 ANNUAL REPORT

Sideline Wine & Dine

Each year, dozens of Orlando’s most popular bars and eateries take over the Camping World Stadium premium areas for our annual Sideline Wine and Dine fundraiser presented by OAI + Rainier.

Guests can sample fine wines, craft beers, and delectable dishes from dozens of local favorites. Proceeds from the event benefit the Florida Citrus Sports Foundation’s continued K-8 educational efforts in The Communities of West Lakes near Camping World Stadium. Learn More »

Driving Impact Celebrity Golf Classic

What happens when some of the world’s top athletes get together with a football stadium for a golf tournament? A lot of good for our neighborhood. Our first three events raised over $200,000 each for Lift Orlando.

The “Driving Impact” Celebrity Golf Classic presented by AdventHealth at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando is a private, celebrity pro-am golf event benefiting the work of Lift Orlando. The two-day gathering also features a Pairings Party on the Sunday before the tournament at the Lake Nona Wave Hotel. Learn More »

Extra Yard for Teachers

Florida Citrus Sports announced a partnership with the College Football Playoff (CFP) Foundation in December 2015 that has resulted in the funding of classroom project requests for public schools in the neighborhoods surrounding Camping World Stadium. Orlando became the sixth city, and the first outside of the “New Year’s Six” bowl host cities, to partner with the CFP Foundation. Learn More »

Since 2019, Florida Citrus Sports and the CFP Foundation have combined to support nearly 1,000 projects totaling more than $300,000 using the DonorsChoose platform, which vets each project, elicits matching donations and ships the funded resources directly to impacted classrooms.

In addition to continued funding of classroom projects, local teachers have also been recognized on the field at Florida Citrus Sports-hosted football games and surprised with lunch and grants during Extra Yard for Teachers Week each September. Learn More »

November, 2023 — Florida Citrus Sports and the College Football Playoff Foundation teamed up to provide Clay Springs Elementary with a $10,000 DonorsChoose flash funding grant to support classroom projects on the Orange County campus this school year.

Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan joined Orange County District 2 Commissioner Christine Moore, Orange County Public Schools District 7 Board Member Melissa Byrd, OCPS Chief of Staff Dr. Bridget Williams, Clay Springs principal Rebecca McDaid and several members of McDaid’s team to present a commemorative check on campus earlier this week. The grant is part of a $60,000 overall commitment to local schools announced at the Camping World Kickoff on Sept. 3. Learn More »

September, 2023 — The College Football Playoff Foundation (CFPF), Florida Citrus Sports (FCS), and Lift Orlando unveiled an Extra Yard Makeover at Orange Center Elementary in Orlando today. Part of the 2023 Big 12 Homecoming tour to welcome UCF Athletics to the conference, the new STEM center will impact students in the Communities of West Lakes surrounding Camping World Stadium for years to come. Learn More »

“Support like this means so much,” said Byrd, who represents Clay Springs on the OCPS board. “Our teachers come to work every day with so much passion in their hearts and so many things they want to do, but funding is limited, as it always is with public schools. So, for them to be granted the opportunity to invest in programs they want to provide for their students, it’s a tremendous honor and gift.”

“As a school, we are here to partner with the community and partner with families to educate our students,” McDaid added. “The families are our students’ first and best teachers, but we are always grateful for the support of our community, because it really does take a village.”

August, 2019 — The College Football Playoff (CFP) Foundation and Florida Citrus Sports (FCS) announced the launch of a significant initiative to support Orlando teachers with a joint investment of a minimum of $1 million over the next five years to fund mutually-agreeable projects designed to support teachers and positive student environment. These projects will take place within the footprint of Lift Orlando, a non-profit organization of local business leaders partnering with residents for neighborhood revitalization focused on affordable housing, cradle to career education, health and wellness, and economic viability in the communities surrounding Camping World Stadium.

The initiative extended an already strong partnership between the CFP Foundation and FCS. The two entities have a highly successful history of matching investments to support education as part of Lift Orlando. These investments include the support of early learning opportunities and classroom resources where the needs are the highest. Learn More »

August, 2019 — Florida Citrus Sports, the College Football Playoff (CFP) Foundation and Fun Spot America are teaming up with DonorsChoose.org to invest $100,000 to support classroom projects in Central Florida, Florida Citrus Sports CEO Steve Hogan announced Tuesday.

The combined investment includes a $25,000 commitment from Florida Citrus Sports, $25,000 from Extra Yard for Teachers — the primary cause platform of the CFP Foundation — and a matching $50,000 donation from Fun Spot in conjunction with its Golden Rule Day promotion. Learn More »

Lake Lorna Doone Park Reconstruction

In 2019, Florida Citrus Sports and the City of Orlando partnered on a full renovation of historic Lake Lorna Doone Park in the West Lakes neighborhoods of Orlando’s District 5, across the street from Camping World Stadium. The redevelopment began with a groundbreaking event on Tuesday, June 4, 2019.

The Lake Lorna Doone Park renovations were unanimously approved by the Orlando City Council in September. The $8 million project was made possible through several community partners, anchored by a $3 million fundraising commitment by Florida Citrus Sports in partnership with the city. LEARN MORE >> 

VISIT THE OFFICIAL PARK WEBSITE >>

“Better Together” Community Drive-In: Remember The Titans

On Friday Oct. 2, 2020, Florida Citrus Sports, our neighbors and community leaders gathered at Camping World Stadium for a pop-up drive-in movie showing of Remember the Titans.

Though 2020 has been a unique and difficult year, the beginning of football season was an opportunity to rally together. FCS believes in the power of sports to unite neighbors and create lasting social change. Disney’s 2000 family film Remember The Titans, based on the true story of the 1971 T. C. Williams High School football team, is a great example of that power.

The event took place on historic Tinker Field at Camping World Stadium. The local baseball diamond was also once the host to Jackie Robinson as well as a 1964 speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Florida Citrus Sports board member Justin Kinsey and CEO Steve Hogan spoke to media about how an idea turned into the “Better Together” Community Drive-In event.

Neighborhood Food Drops

During the pandemic, Florida Citrus Sports, the West Lakes Partnership, Lift Orlando, Second Harvest Food Bank and the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation have teamed up to host a series of emergency food drops for residents of the West Lakes Communities surrounding Camping World Stadium.

Approximately 300 -700 families have been served at each food drop and, in total, over 123,000 pounds of food and other critical resources have been distributed to date.

Thank you to everyone who came out and volunteered their time. A special thanks to our partners at Little Caesars, who donated pizzas for our volunteers who were out providing food to families in need at the food drop.

Volunteers participating at neighborhood food drop

Wells Fargo Grant

Through a grant from Wells Fargo, which went towards providing families in need throughout the West Lakes neighborhoods,  we were able to provide necessary educational resources for their children during the COVID-19 pandemic’s trying times.

“My daughter has not been able to log into her Zoom classes due to our lack of a computer that worked properly. I have received calls from teachers and even the principal, and had to explain that the computer has kept her from participating in her classes. Well, now that we have the brand new computer (my daughter), has been able to log in and catch up on her missing work. I am able to seek employment as well which is much needed.”

Jones High School Graduation Drive-Thru

During the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, we partnered with the Florida Lottery to celebrate the graduating class at Jones High School. We have continued that tradition each year since by recognizing graduating students on the Camping World Stadium scoreboard during their Senior Drive-Thru.

Jones seniors wore their caps and gowns as they rode one last time through campus – decorated with staff cheering them on. Click the image below for more photos of the most recent Senior Drive-Thru ceremony.

AdventHealth Laundry Center Pizza Delivery

The heroes at AdventHealth Central Florida’s laundry facility work around the clock keeping the state’s frontline workers protected in the fight against COVID-19. We were honored to partner with Little Caesars Pizza to #PieItForward with a Hot-N-Ready® lunch and some Cheez-It Bowl swag.

AdventHealth Book Drive

In partnership with AdventHealth, we hosted an online book drive to help fill the library at the West Lakes Early Learning Center, which welcomed its first students earlier this year.

Contributions support this critical new facility’s goal of empowering children of West Lakes to learn, thrive and grow, so that they can be their very best.

Thanks to the generous donations and contributions, the Florida Citrus Sports Foundation has raised over $2,000 and counting to help support its mission to assist children and families living in the neighborhoods surrounding Camping World Stadium.

West Lakes Teacher Recognition

Hundreds of teachers across the West Lakes community received Grubhub gift cards courtesy of Desmond Howard who joined us for a Chalk Talk presented by CenterState Bank on May 14, 2020. Thank you, Desmond, and thank you, teachers!

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View Legends Academy thank you video

In partnership with Lift Orlando, Florida Citrus Sports also provided yard signs to local teachers to honor their commitment to their students and their community.

Diaper Bank Donation

On behalf of Florida State football coach Mike Norvell, we made a donation to the diaper bank, in support provide for families and their young children.

“There are so many families that struggle to provide all the resources that are essential for their young children,” Norvell said. “The diaper banks are fulfilling a fundamental need in their communities, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to help them make this impact in our Big Bend area and in Central Florida.”

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Second Harvest Food Bank Donation

Please join Florida Citrus Sports in bringing hope to our neighbors in need by making a pledge to Second Harvest Food Bank. So many people in our community struggled to meet their basic needs, like nutritious food during the COVID-19 pandemic. The team at Limitless Minds joined us for a webinar on mindset in April 2020 and asked that we donate their fee to help those in need in our community.

We invited others to join us in helping thousands of seniors, children, working-poor families and others in need of support here:  http://www.feedhopenow.org/goto/FloridaCitrusSports

Pendana School Supplies Drive

During Member Appreciation Week presented by AdventHealth, FCS members dropped off various school supplies for students in the West Lakes communities.

These donations were combined with proceeds from this year’s Sideline Wine & Dine fundraiser to help support approximately 200 elementary, middle and high school students living at Pendana at West Lakes.

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