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Surfer From Providence High School Takes On More Than Waves!!!
Summer camp changed Matt Laurence. Last summer, Laurence, now a junior at Providence School, attended a Christian summer camp in North Carolina run by Crossroads Worldwide. The message he took away, after listening to evangelist Clayton King, was "death to apathy," Laurence said. "I decided I'm not going to sit around and be an apathetic teenager," said Laurence, 17. "I'm going to make a difference." So when the new school year began, Laurence started a club at Providence called SURF, an acronym for Surfers Under Radical Faith. Part of the club's function is for hard-core surfers like Laurence to teach the sport to less experienced classmates. But Laurence had a loftier goal. Whenever he'd visit the pier at Jacksonville Beach, which he does whenever the waves are good, he'd encounter homeless people hanging out near the pier. Often they'd ask him for money. Rather than being annoyed, he found he didn't mind giving up his loose change. "It always made me feel good," he said. So Laurence decided his club should raise money for Mission House of Jacksonville Beach, which provides services to the homeless. For the past several months, he's been working on organizing SURF for the Homeless, which will be held this weekend. He expects to raise more than $3,000 for Mission House. "People are generous," said Laurence, who has raised more than $1,000 himself as well as lining up sponsors such as Sunrise Surf Shop and Chick-fil-A (where he works). "People are looking for a good cause." Saturday's event takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Sixth Avenue North in Jacksonville Beach. It won't be a competition. Instead, it will be a "day at the beach," Laurence said. Registered surfers will ride the waves and eat Chick-fil-A sandwiches. There also will be volleyball and other games. Anyone can participate by contributing $25, although a parental permission form is needed for anyone under 18. Those who want to sign up or want more information can call Laurence's father, John Laurence, at (904) 699-4843 or e-mail jplaurence@bellsouth.net. Organizing the event has been "extremely hard and kind of stressful," Matt Laurence said. "But I would love to do it next year." A fan of any activity that gives him "an adrenaline rush," Laurence said, he'd eventually like to be a lawyer. "I like to argue a little bit," he said. "And I have a passion for standing up for what's right." charlie.patton@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4413
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