CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – Former England and Manchester United football star Andy Cole reflected for a moment on what he experienced at the Gary Player Invitational presented by Coca-Cola at Sun City this November. “This is how far I’ve come,” he said. “I take nothing for granted anymore.”
As he prepared to make his debut in Player’s annual charity tournament, Cole expressed his gratitude of being part of the spirit of Golf and Giving that the global Gary Player Invitational series has come to embody as part of its quest to raise money for underprivileged children and needy charities worldwide.
“Sitting here and playing golf in the Gary Player Invitational, I’ve still got to pinch myself now and again because it’s still surreal for me,” said Cole. “I had dinner with Gary Player. I was sitting there all the time thinking, this gentleman is 81 years of age and he’s nothing but sheer class. We can all learn from that. To be such an icon and such a global superstar, yet to be so humble. It says it all.”
With more than R8.5 million raised during the 2016 global series, enabling The Player Foundation to make significant contributions to numerous beneficiaries and charities around the world.
What began as a family project on Gary Player’s farm in South Africa, where he built a school and church for the local children, has now grown into an organization with a global reach under the banner of The Player Foundation organized by Black Knight International.
And Player himself remains as driven as ever to reach the $100 million charitable donations target he has set for his foundation.
This year, the Gary Player Invitational series included six tournaments played in Abu Dhabi, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, China and South Africa.
The beneficiary of the Abu Dhabi tournament was the Zayed Higher Organization for Humanitarian Care and Special Needs, which aims to improve the lives of UAE individuals with special needs by encouraging the benefits of sport, health and wellness. The funds raised are being used to purchase the equipment of the new Gary Player Gymnasium at ZHO.
In Japan, the tournament and its partners raised valuable funds for Support Our Kids, which nurtures the children of Tohoku who were affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. The program enrolls destitute youth into an overseas homestay program. With the help of The Player Foundation, the program has placed 342 participants in homes in 10 countries.
In the United Kingdom, the Berenberg Gary Player Invitational supported Depaul’s mission to end homelessness and change the lives of those affected by it. Depaul supports some of the most disadvantaged young people in the United Kingdom, providing emergency overnight and longer term supported accommodation for more than 3500 young people every year who face the terrible prospect of being homeless.
The United States tournament raised valuable funds for the First Tee of America, CESA soccer scholarships, Give to Colombia, and schools throughout the country. The CESA financial aid program allowed 126 children to play soccer and 243 coaches to educate more than 2000 players from age 4 to 19.
And in South Africa, the funds raised have facilitated the expansion of Wildlands and enabled the establishment of the organization’s recycling project in Colesberg. It also contributed to the ongoing work of Wings and Wishes, which was able to provide 1570 transport tickets to sick children and expand its reach from the Eastern Cape of South Africa to other impoverished areas in eight of the country’s nine provinces.
The global series of Gary Player Invitational tournaments remains the bedrock of The Player Foundation’s fundraising efforts, which began under the vision of Marc Player in 1983, and has raised more than $62 million for charity.
For more information on the Gary Player Invitational, visit www.garyplayerinvitational.com and follow @GPInvitational on Twitter and Instagram – #GOLFandGIVING.
For more information please contact:
Bo Wood – Black Knight International
b.wood@garyplayer.com
+ 1 864 477 2720
Meagan Fester – Black Knight International
meagan@garyplayer.co.za
+27 21 448 7777
Michael Vlismas – Michael Vlismas Media
michaelv@iafrica.com
+27 72 242 8399
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 established 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 six 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 more than $60 million 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.
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