Zac Brown's Camp Southern Ground Receives $2.2M Donation From Jimmy John's Owner, Jimmy John Liautaud

Staff Report From Georgia CEO

Thursday, January 24th, 2019

Camp Southern Ground, the non-profit passion project of multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning artist Zac Brown, of Zac Brown Band, continues to celebrate the success of its first year of summer camp and veteran programming during 2018, while also looking ahead to 2019 and beyond. The achievements and advances during Camp Southern Ground's inaugural year were made possible through the generous donations made by Jimmy John's Owner and Founder, Jimmy John Liautaud, and his wife, Leslie Liautaud.

Crucial to the opening of Camp Southern Ground's summer camp and veteran programming, was the building of the first residential lodge on campus. As longtime supporters of Camp Southern Ground, Jimmy and Leslie eagerly stepped in to champion the project and support its build through generous donations totaling $2.2 million. With the completion of the lodge, full operation programming commenced on campus, delivering its first year of summer camps and veteran programming.

"We are honored to consider Jimmy and Leslie Liautaud friends and long-time supporters of our mission.  Their heart and passion coming alongside all of us at Camp Southern Ground means the world to us and was instrumental in our successful building of the camp. In addition to financial support, I also appreciate Jimmy's mentoring and willingness to assist at the strategic level," said Camp Southern Ground CEO and President, Mike Dobbs.

Jimmy and Leslie Liautaud have been supporters of Camp Southern Ground through donations made by both Jimmy John's Sandwiches and the Liautaud Family Foundation since 2014. To date, the Liautaud's have donated over $3.2 million in funding to help build the camp. As longtime friends of Camp Southern Ground, their generosity will continue to help serve the camp's mission; to provide extraordinary experiences for individuals to recognize and magnify the unique gifts within themselves and others to profoundly impact the world.

In addition to participating in many exciting activities, campers also build friendships and wonderful memories during Camp Southern Ground's summer camp program. During the camp's off-season, veterans and their families engage in programming geared toward supporting them in their readjustment to civilian life.

Registration for Camp Southern Ground's summer 2019 programming is currently open. Families interested in camper enrollment for summer 2019 can fill out proper application forms via the following link: www.campsouthernground.org/summer-camp/apply