Golf icon Gary Player and The Player Foundation continue to provide aid and spread hope for a bright future for underprivileged children across China following another successful Gary Player Invitational (GPI) in Shanghai.
The event featuring a dazzling gala and pro-am tournament added significant funds to the 2014 fundraising campaign to benefit this year’s selected beneficiary, the Zhejiang Xinhua Compassion Education Foundation.
This year was the eighth year that the GPI global charity series, staged by Black Knight International, has ventured to Shanghai, China. Including funds raised at this year’s gala, the charity event, situated between the BMW Masters and WGC-HSBC Champions, has generated over RMB 60 million in China in order to aid in improving lives and providing educational support to underprivileged children.
“I have always felt exceptionally passionate about helping children in need and I could not be more pleased with the outcome of our event here in Shanghai,” said Gary Player. “Through this event, we have the power to create a brighter future for countless children here in China.”
The Grand Slam champion hosted hundreds of businessmen, philanthropists, golf enthusiasts, and celebrity artists including Jasmine Chen at the Jing An Shangri-La hotel for the GPI Gala. The star-studded event included numerous performances and a thrilling live auction before golfers teed it up at the Shanghai Links for the GPI Pro-Am tournament.
“China remains a very important and significant stop for our Gary Player Invitational series as we have been able to create a truly meaningful impact with The Player Foundation’s efforts across the country,” said Marc Player, Black Knight International CEO. “The success of the event would certainly not be possible without the great sponsors including Rolex, SAP, Callaway, Coca-Cola, BMW, NetJets, Naked Retreats, and the Jing An Shangri-La Hotel.”
Funds raised from the event will go to expand the efforts of the Zhejiang Xinhua Compassion Education Foundation to assist with education and provide meals for children in the rural areas of the country. Since its establishment in 2007, the charity has assisted over 29000 students, as well as built over 120 libraries and over 340 Elementary Schools. The foundation also distributes over 7500 eggs each day in the One Child One Egg Program.
Player, who celebrated his birthday a few days earlier, exclaimed, “Being able to make this great impact for the youth there in China is very special to me and perhaps the best birthday present that I could wish for.”
Following the successful stop in Shanghai, the 2014 Gary Player Invitational series is set to conclude at South Africa’s Sun City Resort on November 20-23.
For more information on the Gary Player Invitational, visit www.garyplayerinvitational.com and follow @GPInvitational on Twitter.
ABOUT BLACK KNIGHT INTERNATIONAL
Established in 1983 by Marc Player, Black Knight International is a global holding company for The Player Group and the constantly expanding family of Gary Player® brands. With a powerful presence in North and South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, Black Knight is a multicultural and multilingual company offering branded services for the leisure and real estate industries. This rapidly growing firm is diverse and infused with the same tenaciousness and drive as Gary Player, world renowned iconic golfer. The holding company divisions include: Gary Player Design, Player Real Estate, Black Knight Enterprises, Black Knight Solutions, Black Knight Capital, Gary Player Academies, and The Player Foundation.
ABOUT THE PLAYER FOUNDATION
The Player Foundation was founded in 1983 by Marc Player. What began as an effort to provide education, nutrition, medical care and athletic activities, for a small community of disadvantaged children living on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa has now blossomed into an organization that circles the globe bringing aid to underprivileged children and impoverished communities.
The Foundation is funded primarily by four Gary Player Invitational events presented through Black Knight International. Pairing celebrities and professional golfers from the PGA and Champions Tours with businessmen and international sports figures, the annual tournaments are staged in the United States, China, Europe and South Africa. The proceeds of these tournaments and other special events provide funding for an ever- expanding number of institutions around the world, including the Blair Atholl Schools in South Africa, the Pleasant City Elementary School in Palm Beach, the Masizame in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa, and AIDS infected children in Baoshan, a drug-infested city located on the China-Burma border. Since its establishment, The Player Foundation has donated nearly $60 million dollars to the support of children’s charities, the betterment of impoverished communities and the expansion of educational opportunities throughout the world.
Gary Player, acknowledged as a world-class humanitarian, believes that the strength of our future depends upon the abilities of our children. “I have found that the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others does not thrust itself upon us,” Player says, “But we do not need to look hard for it either. When you spot the chance to give back to the world, act on it. You will have made life better, for others, and for yourself.”
The Gary Player Foundation is a non-profit 501 C (3) organization managed by Black Knight International in Palm Beach, Florida.
ABOUT ZHEJIANG XINHUA COMPASSION EDUCATION FOUNDATION
The NGO’s main area of concern is that children in rural China often go to school with an empty stomach because they do not have the money for breakfast. This causes them to be malnourished and affects both their mental concentration and physical body growth.
As education is seen as a way to improve one’s standard of living and help them to break out of the poverty trap, it is necessary for children to have enough nutrition especially when young. To solve that issue, Zhejiang Xinhua Compassion Education Foundation has launched a “One Child One Egg” program that ensures that schooling children get an egg a day for breakfast to provide them with the necessary nutrients for mental and physical growth. The program covers 4 main mountainous areas in China namely Huizhou, Gansu, Sichuan and Anhui.
Since its establishment in 2007, the Zhejiang Xinhua Compassion Education Foundation has assisted over 29000 students; built over 120 libraries and over 340 Elementary Schools. The foundation distributes over 7500 eggs each day in the One Child One Egg Program.
The charity is supported by Taiwanese Actress and Singer, Rene Liu and rock-band, Mayday and has recruited and earned the support of countless compassionate sponsors from China, Taiwan, and the US.
Contact:
Grace Vine – Black Knight International
grace@garyplayer.com
+1 864 477 2720
Meagan Fester – Black Knight International
meagan@garyplayer.co.za
+27 21 448 7777
