JOG N JAM Brings Community Together for a Day of Fun and Giving Back

The annual JOG N JAM event on Dec. 7, 2024, brought together runners, music lovers, and the Sanibel-Captiva community for a day of fitness, fun, and community. This year’s event welcomed an impressive 570 registered runners, with participants from across Florida and as far as the Northeast, Midwest, Southwest, and West Coast, as well as international runners from Canada, the UK, and Jersey. “This is the largest runner registration in the history of our race, and we couldn’t be more excited!” exclaimed Leah Winkler, FISH board member and committee co-chair. “It’s incredible to see participants from across the globe coming together to support our mission—we are truly honored to be represented worldwide!”

The races began promptly at 7:00 AM, with greetings from Mayor Richard Johnson, FISH Executive Director Maria Espinoza and a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem performed by local 8th-grade student Teagan Clark. Both the 10K and 5K courses followed a scenic route on Sanibel, with the start and finish at the Sanibel Community House. The Kids Fun Run ended the morning activities, with nearly 30 participants who received a finisher ribbon and ice cream coupon.

The evening festivities kicked off at ‘Tween Waters Island Resort & Spa, where the Funk You band delivered an unforgettable beach concert with a dazzling fireworks display. The event featured overflow parking and shuttle service, ensuring convenient access for all attendees. Food and beverages provided by ‘Tween Waters ensured everyone was well-fed and satisfied throughout the evening.

FISH of SANCAP is grateful to the many individuals and organizations that made this event possible, including their dedicated sponsors, enthusiastic volunteers, engaged participants, and generous raffle donors. Without their support, the success of JOG N JAM would not have been possible.

The JOG N JAM committee, co-chaired by Diane Cortese and Leah Winkler, were overjoyed with the incredible support and participation that made the event such a success. “We are deeply grateful for the outstanding sponsorships from businesses both on and off the islands,” said Cortese. “Their generosity and commitment were truly unmatched, particularly during disaster recovery, and we couldn’t have done it without them.” Cortese, a veteran committee member, also highlighted the many positive improvements for the 2024 event, including expanded sponsor involvement, exciting team competition, and a remarkable collection of raffle basket donations, all of which came together to create an unforgettable island experience.

This year’s event was sponsored by 85 businesses, organizations and/or individuals at various levels. A large group of dedicated volunteers signed up to help make the event another huge success.

FISH OF SANCAP  is a social service nonprofit organization whose mission is to enrich the lives of all people in Sanibel and Captiva Islands by neighbors helping neighbors with senior services, education and assistance. Since Hurricane Ian in 2022 and Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024, the organization has been offering long-term disaster recovery assistance in addition to programs that represent their four major pillars — – Food, Island Based Education, Social and Senior Services, and Helping Hands. Net proceeds from JOG N JAM directly benefit the programs and services of FISH. By participating in this event, attendees have helped FISH continue its vision to create communities where all people have the support they need to thrive.

“We are extremely proud of everyone who has helped us with this year’s JOG N JAM,” said Maria Espinoza, Executive Director. “We would like to thank our committee members and Lin-Mark Sports for their superb technical direction and assistance for the race registration, timing and results as well as concertgoer sales.”

Espinoza continues, “We also owe a huge thank you to everyone who helped us raise the funds that will allow us to continue to provide a full range of social services and disaster recovery assistance to our neighbors. We couldn’t ask for better support from the City of Sanibel, police department, service organizations, our sponsors and, notably, our great staff and volunteers who helped bring all of this together.”

Espinoza made special mention of the amazing finisher medals featuring the Sanibel lighthouse and noting the City’s 50^th anniversary. The handcrafted age group awards are a crowd favorite designed as a way to honor the community and what the islands stand for. Shells used for these awards were found on Sanibel beaches and donated by the Sanibel Community House.

For more race results, please visit https://runsignup.com/Race/Results/146120#resultSetId-517206;perpage:100

For additional news and photos of the race along with a full list of sponsors, please visit https://www.fishofsancap.org/jog-n-jam/ and the organization’s social media pages on Facebook and Instagram.

To learn more about FISH, please visit their website and social media pages to see firsthand how the agency works to better the community and particularly their response to the Ian disaster. To learn more about hurricane recovery and other services of FISH, please contact Maria Espinoza, Executive Director, at (239) 472-4775.