CORAL SPRINGS, FL – Since his tragic death in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting, the family of Scott Beigel set up a fund to send underprivileged children to summer sleep-away camp – a legacy to their son who loved camp and mentoring young people.

For the past four years, Scott J. Beigel Memorial Fund has provided a safe and fun haven in camps for hundreds of at-risk children in New York City and other Northeast urban areas. This week, organizers announced that the program has been expanded to Florida, giving an opportunity for youth across the Sunshine State to attend camp in memory of the popular cross-county coach and geography teacher.

“There’s a piece of Scott’s heart in every child that we send to camp,” his mother, Linda Beigel Schulman, has said. She added: “We’re thrilled to expand this program to children in Florida and this is a direct result of the generosity of our partners, donors and supporters.”

The money for the program comes from RUN 4 BEIGEL races in Parkland and New York as well as fundraisers and donations.

Beginning in the summer of 2023, the fund will provide grants to children from Florida to attend camp up north.

In 2022, the fund gave out grants totaling $283,600, sending 212 children to sleep-away camps in New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, Schulman said.

“It’s wonderful that so many young people have experienced these camps because of the success of the fund and our races,” said Doug Eaton, race director for RUN 4 BEIGEL. Schulman added: “Enabling at-risk underserved children to experience the joys and wonders of summer sleep-away camp is life changing.” She said it costs $1,500 to send one child to summer sleep-away camp for two weeks and “children can participate in activities that they have only dreamed of.”