PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla., May 10, 2010 -The EWGA (Executive Women’s Golf Association) Foundation’s 2010 ‘Drive For Dreams ‘initiative will benefit our nation’s heroes through two PGA of America-inspired player development programs: Golf for Injured Veterans Everywhere (GIVE); and Salute Military Golf Association (SMGA).
The GIVE Foundation, founded in 2007 and administered through the IOWA PGA, is a program designed to train veterans in the fundamentals of golf and to enhance their mental, social, physical and emotional well-being and improve the quality of their life. SMGA was founded in 2004 as a therapeutic outlet for soldiers undergoing prolonged medial treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC. SMGA provides recreational therapy, through the game of golf, to combat-wounded American soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan in an effort to improve the lives of these American heroes. Funds raised through the 2010 ‘Drive for Dreams’ campaign will go to support these programs that serve injured veterans, along with their spouses and families.
The EWGA Foundation, through association-wide events and local EWGA chapter activities, will hold ‘gently used’ golf club donation drives at various sites across the country, along with other fundraising activities throughout the year. The club donations are monetized, turning unwanted golf clubs into cash donations to the EWGA Foundation based on their fair market trade-in values with the support of the PGA of America and PGA Trade-in Network to facilitate the process. The proceeds will be donated to GIVE and SMGA.
In 2007, the EWGA Foundation, with the support of local EWGA chapters and individual members across the United States, launched the ‘Drive For Dreams’ outreach program to share their good fortune with those less fortunate through contributions of golf equipment and other resources needed to ‘Give the Gift of Golf.’
The first effort resulted in providing equipment, apparel and funding for Kenya’s only female golf professional, Rose Naliaka and her fledgling girls golf program in Nairobi. Since the EWGA Foundation initiative, Rose and four of her students have had the opportunity to visit St Andrews in Scotland; and girls at the Naliaka Golf Acadamy now are preparing to compete in the 2016 Olympic games.
In 2009, ‘Drive for Dreams” funds raised benefited Rene Powell’s LPGA-USGA Girls Golf program at the historic Clearview Golf Club in East Canton, Ohio. A LPGA/PGA golf professional, Renee is one of only three African-American women to play on the LPGA tour. Her family’s Clearview Golf Club (on the National Register of Historic Places), was built by her father in 1948 and remains the only African- American owned and operated golf facility in the country.
“Drive for Dreams demonstrates that sharing the ‘gift of golf’ can reach across continents, break down barriers and give back to the veterans and families who have sacrificed so much,” says Margaret Downey, president of the EWGA Foundation. “We are turning golf clubs into opportunities to help others fulfill their dreams.”
To make a donation, or to learn more, visit the EWGA Foundation section under the Learn More About EWGA tab at www.ewga.com
About the EWGA Foundation
The EWGA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization that, as a separate legal entity, is supported by the EWGA (Executive Women’s Golf Association), and funded through member contributions, donor and various fundraising activities. Its mission is to create and fund education and leadership programs for women of all ages. EWGA Foundation initiatives include: financial support for the development and refinement of the EWGA Golf Education curriculum; financial support to bring speakers with expertise in leadership development training and facilitation to EWGA meetings and gatherings; the Drive for Dreams program, to give the gift of golf; the Women On Par® scholarship program; and fundraising in support of LPGA-USGA Girls Golf (Girls Golf).
Over the past seven years, the EWGA Foundation, through EWGA chapters and association-wide fundraising efforts, has raised over $450,000 in support of Girls Golf, one of the EWGA Foundation’s designated charities. EWGA members also serve as mentors and volunteers at more than 40 Girls Golf sites, making the EWGA one of the largest single contributors to the Girls Golf program aside from the USGA.
About the EWGA
Since its founding in 1991, the EWGA has enriched the lives of more than 100,000 women connecting them to learn, play, and enjoy golf for business and fun. This tax exempt association delivers a wide range of golf, social and networking activities for both new and experienced golfers at over 125 local chapters throughout the United States and international chapters in Canada.
The EWGA is headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. For more information about the association and its membership, visit www.ewga.com
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