Colonial Country Club
Colonial Country Club’s Birdies For Charity raised the bulk of a record more than $20 million for local nonprofits through the PGA Tour’s Charles Schwab Challenge, club officials said on Friday.
Over the past three decades the 77-year-old championship has generated cash and services valued at more than $200 million for more than 150 different organizations.
In Birdies For Charity, local nonprofit groups worked to secure pledges from friends and businesses. The PGA Tour pros did their part by making 1,079 birdies during the championship.
On Thursday, tournament and Fort Worth Colonial Charities officials gathered with the 33 Birdies charities to celebrate.
“We are truly grateful to be able to support all these great charities in the Tarrant County area,” said Colonial Tournament Chairman Jim Whitten in a statement. “Some of these organizations have partnered with us for more than 15 years, but they have been in the community even longer than that. We are proud to have a meaningful impact on their service to others.”
The Birdies campaign resulted in more than $19 million being raised. A grand total of $20.4 million was generated throughout the year from other tournament community service activities and initiatives, and its Fort Worth Colonial Charities, Inc. philanthropic arm.
Of the PGA Tour events staging Birdies For Charity campaigns, Colonial’s $19 million figure this year is one of the largest on Tour. Since the program’s inception locally in 2005, the annual Birdies campaign has generated more than $165 million for participating charities. As a bonus, the Birdies For Charity pledges were energized by a matching fund of $275,000 from Fort Worth Colonial Charities. Thirty-three local nonprofit organizations and their volunteers led the Birdies For Charity to success.
The breadth of donations focus on children and support a variety of programs, including camp scholarships for disabled, special needs or low-income children, residency programs/services for abused, neglected and at-risk children, cultural programs/field trips for underserved students, college scholarships, educational mentoring programs, medical diagnostic and treatment services for disabled and low-income children, afterschool programs, support services for homeless families, and more.
Military-related charities are also a significant part of the tournament’s activities. Working with Military Warriors Support Foundation, Higginbotham and Vermeer Equipment, the tournament and Fort Worth Colonial Charities have helped donate 26 homes to injured veterans since 2011. They also partner with Lockheed Martin to send care packages overseas to soldiers annually and worked with the Rainwater Foundation to host active and retired military personnel during the tournament. This year, Colonial also worked with MorningStar Partners to host a replica Vietnam War Memorial.
Birdies For Charities Groups
ACH Child and Family Services
Alliance for Children
Baylor Scott & White All Saints Health Foundation
Boys & Girls Clubs of Tarrant County
Camp Fire USA First Texas Council
Cancer Care Services
CASA of Tarrant County
Cassata High School
Child Study Center
Communities in Schools of Tarrant County
Community Storehouse
Cornerstone Assistance Network
The First Tee of Fort Worth
Fort Worth Museum of Science & History
Fort Worth Youth Orchestra
The Gatehouse
Happy Hill Farm Academy
HOPE Farm Inc.
Imagination Fort Worth
Kids Who Care
Komen Greater Fort Worth
Lena Pope
Lighthouse for the Blind
Presbyterian Night Shelter
Recovery Resource Council
Ronald McDonald House
SafeHaven of Tarrant County
Texas Health Resources Foundation
Texas Wesleyan University
The WARM Place
A Wish With Wings
YMCA of Metropolitan Fort Worth
Gill Children’s Services