Jags' Quarterback Garrard Gives Back To Native Durham

June 22, 2009 10:12 a.m. EST

Durham, NC (AHN) - Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback David Garrard has returned home to open up a football camp in his hometown of Durham this summer.

His camp will reach all levels of the game, from teaching children the basics of gameplay and strategy, to teaching cheerleaders how to coordinate and inspire. Everyone from age 6-17 is welcome to play.

At the same time, Garrard will raise awareness of Crohn's disease, a rare form of autoimmune disease which causes a wide variety of symptoms in the digestive system and affects between 400,000 and 600,000 people in North America.

He has also established the David Garrard Foundation, which splits its interests between helping children adopt good and healthy lifestyles, and searching for a cure to Crohn's disease.

His foundation, originally established when he first entered the NFL, was in memory of his mother who passed away from breast cancer when he was 16.

The 31-year-old quarterback is going into his eighth season in the league. He has been Jacksonville's starting quarterback since 2006, following a stint in 2004 before he went out with a sprained knee.

He was not given the starting role back immediately, and opted for a back-up position rather than leave the team.

Since 2006, he has always been a steady performer, though he had his break out performance in 2007, where he rated 102.2, throwing 208 completed passes out of 325, and having one of the lowest touchdown/interception ratios in the league at 18 and 3.