Back in 2014, Jordan Clarkson was playing at the University of Missouri as a redshirt junior and would soon enter the NBA draft.

That same year, his father, Mike Clarkson, was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. The elder Clarkson told his son that if he ended up getting drafted, he’d like to see him create some sort of foundation that could give back to those who were in need.

Jordan nearly stopped playing basketball, but by the urging of his father and his coaches at Mizzou, he kept going. He was eventually drafted and made good on his promise to start a foundation — the JC Cares Foundation — which aims to empower underserved communities in a number of ways.

On Tuesday Clarkson and the JC Cares Foundation hosted a celebrity golf tournament in Park City. All the proceeds from the tournament will be routed to families of loved ones battling cancer and help underserved communities in and around the Salt Lake City area.

“We’re all blessed, so it’s just us trying to give back,” Clarkson said.

“Do something good, be a good person, that’s it. So we’ll continue to do this. It’s our first one, so hopefully we can keep them going, and more people show up, we’ll get more sponsors to come. But everybody that’s came here has done a great job, and we appreciate all the support.”

Former NBA player Brandon Jennings, former NFL running back Todd Gurley, Utah Jazz assistant coach and former NBA champion Jason Terry, Jazz point guard Isaiah Collier and a number of other Jazz personnel showed up for the event.

Clarkson said one of the funniest moments of the day was right when they were gearing up for the first tee shot, Jennings lined up and instead of hitting the ball forward, it whipped left at the photographers and videographers.

“We had all the cameras like lined up to the left and the ball shot like straight at them,” Clarkson said with a laugh. “Almost hit him in the head. It was crazy. It was a bad work on that one.”

But maybe the most important person in attendance was Mike Clarkson, more than a decade removed from his initial diagnosis. Jordan knows personally how much cancer can impact not only the person diagnosed, but the family of the person.

Being able to hold these events that can help fund lodging for families while their loved one is in treatment, can help upgrade facilities and do a number of other things, is what really hits home for Clarkson.

“That matters the most,” Clarkson said. “I know how it affects family, cancer and all that. And you know, it’s a tough, tough thing to do.”

But the JC Cares Foundation doesn’t just focus on helping families of those who are battling cancer. They also help to give school supplies to students from underfunded commentates, do food drives and give out Thanksgiving and Christmas meals to families in underserved areas, and anything else they feel drawn to get involved in.

Ultimately, Clarkson doesn’t want his legacy to rest just with what he does on the court. Instead, he wants for the fans to know that he worked just as hard off the court to be a part of the community and to help those who are in need.

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