By Whitney Lee, SocialLee
If you or your child has been the recipient of a Haugen Foundation scholarship, he or she is part of the Haugen family.
August marked 11 years since the death of Niceville High School student, Taylor Haugen, that rocked the Niceville community and entire Emerald Coast. Friends, family and those impacted by the Foundation are brought back to August 30, 2008:
It was a new school year and with that, football season was kicking off in Niceville, Florida. Spirits were high and the Eagles were headed to play cross-town rivals, Fort Walton Beach Vikings. Taylor “T” Haugen was gearing up to hit the gridiron while his father, Brian Haugen, was deployed with the National Guard and while mom, Kathy Haugen, rallied friends and grabbed a bleacher on the sidelines. She was dressed in maroon and white ready to cheer on her son, a 15-year-old sophomore wide receiver at Niceville High. The game kicked off and within a matter of seconds, Taylor suffered a severe abdominal injury. This injury caused internal bleeding that ultimately led to Taylor’s death. The entire community was stunned, heartbroken and left asking questions. How could this happen? Wasn’t he wearing pads? Was this a freak accident or does this happen to other kids?
Parents in the community were asking, “Could this happen to my child?” The tragedy is one that no parent should ever have to go through, but nonetheless the Haugen’s took their pain and gave it a purpose.
With that, the Taylor Haugen Foundation was born. It’s mission is to provide awareness, education and abdominal injury protection to secondary aged schools and leagues in contact sports through its YESS Program (Youth Equipment for Sports Safety) and recognition of outstanding student athletes by giving awards and five scholarships each year for local students in Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties.
Ten years later, the Taylor Haugen Foundation is making tremendous strides as an advocate for the sports injury awareness and prevention not only in Northwest Florida, but throughout the entire nation. The YESS Program is the only nonprofit in the country solely focused on abdominal injuries. The YESS program provides each player on a team with their own personal piece of state-of-the-art abdominal protection equipment. The gear individually form-fits to each player to ensure they are protected at the same level as players in the NFL.
The YESS program has grown nationally to 14 states and has provided proper abdominal injury protection to more than 5,010 student athletes and more than $360,000 has been raised to provide safety equipment. The Program also provides awareness to parents, coaches and players of how prevalent these injuries are and informs them of the availability and affordability of better equipment that can protect them from abdominal injury. The Foundation’s mission and the YESS program have been featured in major national media outlets including ESPN, Fox News, USA TODAY, CBS This Morning, NBC Nightly News and more.
Each year the scholarship is awarded to five student-athletes in three local counties who demonstrate Taylor’s characteristic traits which are also the Foundation’s pillars: a balance of academics, athleticism, leadership, community service and Christian faith as well as a perseverance to improve themselves in all aspects of their life while enjoying God’s gifts to the fullest. In its first 10 years, the Foundation has provided 51 scholarships, for a total of $71,000. And now because of a grant from the St Joe Community Foundation, Bay County also has a $1,500 annual scholarship as well.
Aside from the scholarships, the Taylor Haugen Foundation also awards a trophy to a local student that fulfills the “Don’t Quit – Never Give Up” spirit by persevering in the face of adversity and continuing to excel in their studies and athletics at the annual All Sports Association FCA breakfast. The trophy is presented each year by hometown legend, Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL quarterback, Danny Wuerffel.
Although his 15 years were cut short, Taylor continues to impact his community through Brian and Kathy. There are several ways you can join the Haugens: Through donations, purchasing wristbands or magnets or by volunteering. Simply provide your name and email to info@taylorhaugen.org or call 850.830.2178.
You can also attend the upcoming Savor the Season Fundraising Event on Thursday, October 24th, held at the Emerald Grande at HarborWalk Village in Destin. Purchase tickets at thfsavortheseason.org.
