CELEBRITY GOLF CHALLENGE SUPPORTS YOUTH MENTORING
MENTOR Partners with TA4Life Foundation for Fundraising Event in Sea Island
MENTOR’s Champions Golf Challenge will be held May 4-5, 2014 in Sea Island, Georgia. This premier celebrity-amateur golf competition was launched three years ago by MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership founding board members Geoff Boisi and NBA Hall-of-Fame legend Bill Russell.
For nearly 25 years, Boisi and Russell have championed mentoring as a critical component of youth development. Their unwavering commitment to the issue helped to create a movement and has led to wide public, private and civic support of mentoring. The experiences of young people, as reported in a recent nationally representative survey, validate their efforts to create more quality youth mentoring opportunities – for example, at-risk youth who had a mentor are 55 percent more likely to be enrolled in college or other post-secondary schooling than those who grew up without a mentor. Yet of the overall young people surveyed, one in three did not have a mentor while growing up. MENTOR’s Champions Golf Challenge raises critical funds for the organization’s work to close that mentoring gap. The event is being led locally by Sea Island resident and MENTOR board member Kathryn Williamson.
“The dedication and fortitude of a nonprofit’s volunteer leadership directly impacts its strength, sustainability and ability to achieve its mission,” said MENTOR CEO David Shapiro. “MENTOR is fortunate to have Geoff Boisi, Bill Russell and Kathryn Williamson’s steadfast support and leadership, and most important their unquestionable belief in our mission. Their effort and outreach to execute a successful event by engaging their peers is unmatched.”
Legendary professional athletes along with PGA and LPGA tour professionals participating in this year’s event include:
- Rick Barry (Ret. NBA)
- Katie Burnett (LPGA)
- Bruce Bowen (Ret. NBA)
- Jim Brown (Ret. NFL)
- Joe Durant (PGA)
- Harris English (PGA)
- George Gervin (Ret. NBA)
- Lucas Glover (PGA)
- J.J. Henry (PGA)
- Billy Horschel (PGA)
- Reggie Jackson (Ret. MLB)
- Zach Johnson (PGA)
- Sam Jones (Ret. NBA)
- Ben Kohles (PGA)
- Steve Largent (Ret. NFL)
- Amelia Lewis (LPGA)
- Davis Love III (PGA)
- Joe Morgan (Ret. MLB)
- Alonzo Mourning (Ret. NBA)
- Dicky Pride (PGA)
- Brett Quigley (PGA)
- Ahmad Rashad (Award-winning Sportscaster)
- Brad Schneider (PGA)
- Brandt Snedeker (PGA)
- Chris Stroud (PGA)
- Hudson Swafford (PGA)
- Bo Van Pelt (PGA)
- Johnson Wagner (PGA)
- Nick Watney (PGA)
This year, MENTOR is pleased to partner with the Tucker Anderson 4 Life Foundation (TA4Life) on the Champions Golf Challenge and have the foundation’s founders, Todd and Stacey Anderson, serve as honorary co-chairs. Todd Anderson was named 2010 PGA of America Teacher of the Year, and his collaboration will add an exciting element to the tournament experience – pairing teams with Tour Professionals. The Andersons formed TA4Life with their son Tucker Anderson after he suffered a traumatic brain injury from a car accident. The foundation’s goal is to help others in similar situations by providing financial assistance and support to people who have had life altering experiences.
“Tucker’s successful recovery has everything to do with the many people who have become mentors to him – from our pastor to his trainer – their consistent support and guidance has been a beacon of light along a long path,” said Stacey Anderson. “Tucker has been so inspired by their mentorship that he now wants to share his experiences to mentor young people in our community. This event gives all of us an opportunity to share our personal experience with the power of mentoring.”
Event participants will have access to two spectacular courses: Ocean Forest Golf Course, ranked 84th in the world, and Frederica Golf Course, designed by Tom Fazio and created in collaboration with Sir Michael Bonallack of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews. Teams consisting of three players will be paired with a Hall of Fame athlete, celebrity, or touring professional on each day of competition. Golfers will also be treated to a unique teaching experience led by Todd Anderson. Participants will enjoy an elegant dinner reception and a night of entertainment at Black Banks Terrace on Sunday, May 4, as well as a closing luncheon on Monday, May 5.
Proceeds from the 2014 Champions Golf Challenge will benefit MENTOR and TA4Life. The event presenting sponsor is Roundtable Investment Partners LLC with additional support provided by EY as a Gold Sponsor. The event is generously hosted by Sea Island, Ocean Forest and Frederica with support from a team of Sea Island resident volunteers.
###
About MENTOR
MENTOR is the unifying champion for quality youth mentoring in the United States. MENTOR’s mission is to close the “mentoring gap” and ensure our nation’s young people have the support they need through quality mentoring relationships to succeed at home, school, and ultimately, work. To achieve this, MENTOR collaborates with its network of local affiliate Mentoring Partnerships and works to increase investments of time and money into high impact mentoring programs and advance quality mentoring through the development and delivery of standards, cutting-edge research and state-of-the-art tools.
Contact: Diane Quest | MENTOR | dquest@mentoring.org | 617.303.4609
About TA4Life
The mission of TA 4 Life Foundation is to provide financial assistance and support to individuals and families with life altering experiences caused by brain injury or Illness and contribute to the continuation of education and research.
Contact: ta4lifefoundation@gmail.com