One participant donates $1,000 scholarship to aid hurricane victims
ST. AUGUSTINE, FL – The First Tee recently donated over $100,000 to the U.S. Golf Hurricane Relief Fund to provide support to victims in the devastated areas of the Gulf Coast. The First Tee participants played a key role in organizing fund-raisers and contributing to the cause.
Overwhelmed by the devastation he witnessed firsthand, 19-year-old Matthew Bellah of The First Tee of Philadelphia donated the $1,000 scholarship he won from The First Tee’s RBS Achievers of the Year Awards to help hurricane victims in his native New Orleans. The First Tee of Houston/F.M. Law Park participants Malorie Luna and Anuj Vyas hosted a golf tournament, which raised $900 to benefit the relief effort.
"It is especially meaningful to see the young people who participate in our programs use the game of golf and the values they learned at The First Tee to help those in need," said Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., The First Tee executive director. "The First Tee is concerned for the people of the Gulf Coast and is proud to have a vast network of individuals and partners who have contributed to the relief effort," added Barrow.
Staff and volunteers at both the local and national levels of The First Tee contributed to the fund, along with corporate partners, donors and participants. Three individual National Trustees of The First Tee along with Barclay’s, RBS, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Wadsworth Golf Charities also made significant contributions to the fund.
In addition to the donation, The First Tee hosted golf clinics at local American Red Cross shelters in New Orleans and became a haven to displaced families in Dallas, Houston and Seattle. Upon relocation, several parents whose children were participants of The First Tee of New Orleans prior to Hurricane Katrina sought out The First Tee in their new cities to provide a level of comfort and normalcy for their uprooted families.
The U.S. Golf Hurricane Relief Fund focuses on providing relief directly to the people involved in the disaster, rather than any type of infrastructure support. Within this parameter, the ultimate use of the funds will be determined in consultation with former Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush, who also serves as honorary chairman of The First Tee. It is intended that the U.S. Golf effort will expand the ultimate scope of the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund.
All contributions to the fund are tax-deductible and may be sent to:
The U.S. Golf Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund
C/o PGA TOUR Charities, Inc.
Attention: Ron Price, Chief Financial Officer, PGA TOUR
Post Office Box 2904
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32004-2904
Contributions also may be made on-line at PGATOUR.com
About The First Tee
The First Tee (www.thefirsttee.org) is an initiative of the World Golf Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in St. Augustine, FL at World Golf Village, home of the World Golf Hall of Fame. Its mission is to impact the lives of young people by providing learning facilities and educational programs that promote character development and life-enhancing values through the game of golf. Since its inception in 1997, The First Tee has opened over 243 golf-learning facilities in 43 states and five international locations, and has introduced the game of golf and its values to over 625,000 participants.
Contact:
Steve Gerrish
The First Tee
(904) 940-4314
