Donations raised at the 25 major championships in 2011 will benefit children with life-threatening illnesses
(KISSIMMEE, Fla.) Aug. 22 – The Golf Channel Am Tour (GCAT) today donated more than $30,000 to Give Kids The World (GKTW) on behalf of the more than 5,000 GCAT members from the 2011 season.
GKTW is the official charitable organization for Golf Channel. The donations were collected from participants at the GCAT 25, two-day “Major Championships” from the 2011 season and from the 2010 GCAT National Championships at TPC Sawgrass.
As the largest amateur golf tour in North America, the Golf Channel Am Tour provides golfers of all ages and skill levels the opportunity to compete in local, regional and national golf tournaments at top facilities and golf destinations nationwide. Golf Channel – part of NBC Sports Group – owns and operates the Am Tour, a professionally managed tour that features more than 800 local championships conducted annually nationwide.
Golf Channel on-air personalities Win McMurry and Charlie Rymer presented the $30,250 check to Give Kids The World President Pam Landwirth at today’s ceremony at Give Kids The World Village in Kissimmee.
Accepting the check with Landwirth were three “wish families” who are staying at the Give Kids The World Village this week. Each family has a child facing a life-threatening illness whose one wish is to visit the theme parks of Central Florida. GKTW helps fulfill the wishes of these children by providing families with weeklong, cost-free, fantasy vacations, complete with accommodations in whimsical villas, transportation, donated attractions tickets, meals and much more.
Diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, as well as several learning disabilities, 16-year-old Megan Collins from Pittsburgh, Pa., wants to become a cartoonist and said it was her dream to visit Walt Disney World. Remarking on the trip, her mother Brenda Collins said, “This is the opportunity of a lifetime. I could never have afforded to take her here and seeing her now, with her imagination coming to life, is wonderful.”
Dressed in a princess gown with pink sparkling earrings, 5-year-old wish child Carolina Floding is jubilant about today’s plans to feed the dolphins at SeaWorld. Visiting from San Diego, Calif., with her parents, she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) at age three and is now in remission. GKTW helped grant Carolina’s one wish to visit Central Florida’s most beloved theme parks.
The Collins’ and The Flodings are just two of the 110,000 families that GKTW has welcomed over the last 25 years. Serving families from all 50 states and more than 70 countries, the global non-profit organization relies on the generosity of countless volunteers, private donors and corporate sponsors to help run its 70-acre “Village.”
“We want to extend a heartfelt thanks to the Golf Channel and to all of the players who participated in the Am Tour. Their donation to Give Kids The World will help to provide a week of magical, unforgettable memories for our families,” said Landwirth.
“Golf Channel has been a longtime supporter of Give Kids the World, and we are excited and honored to extend that support from the more than 5,000 members of the Golf Channel Am Tour,” said Golf Channel Senior Director of Events Kenny Booth.
Culminating the 2011 Golf Channel Am Tour season will be the national championships, taking place Sept. 18-27 at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif.
About Give Kids The World
Give Kids The World Village (GKTW) is a 70-acre, non-profit resort in Central Florida that creates magical memories for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. GKTW provides accommodations at its whimsical resort, donated attractions tickets, meals and more for a weeklong, cost-free fantasy vacation. With the help of many generous individuals, corporations and partnering wish-granting organizations, Give Kids The World has welcomed more than 110,000 families from all 50 states and more than 70 countries. For more information about GKTW and its mission, visit givekidstheworld.org.
About Golf Channel
Golf Channel is a multimedia, golf entertainment and services company based in Orlando, Fla. The Golf Channel cable network, co-founded by Arnold Palmer and part of the NBC Sports Group, is available in more than 120 million homes worldwide through cable, satellite and wireless companies. Exclusive partnerships with the world’s top tours allow Golf Channel to feature more live golf coverage than all other networks combined, added to a programming schedule distinguished by golf’s best news, instruction and original programming. Golf Channel’s digital platform of businesses is led by www.GolfChannel.com, a leading golf destination on the Internet, delivering unmatched coverage of the world of golf, as well as services that help the recreational player with how to play, what to play and where to play golf.
Contact:
Give Kids The World:
Colette Krahenbuhl
407-396-1114 x 4259
colettek@gktw.org
Golf Channel:
Jeremy Friedman
407-355-4058
jfriedman@golfchannel.com
