BRASELTON, Ga. — A USGA Grant benefiting the AJGA’s Leadership Links program will provide matching funds for junior golfers raising money for junior golf charities.
Leadership Links gives juniors all the tools necessary to donate their time, talent and resources to local charities and the AJGA’s youth development. In 2009, juniors raised money for a range of causes, such as the Special Olympics, cancer research and treatment, and junior golf programs. Participants raising money this year for junior golf charities through the Leadership Links program will receive a dollar-for-dollar match up to $1,000 for each donation made to their local junior golf charities.
“The USGA is pleased to make matching funds available through Leadership Links to help inspire fundraising for junior golf programs by junior golfers themselves,” said USGA Grants Committee Chairman Gene McClure. “Encouraging volunteerism and charitable activity associated with the game are important to the USGA.”
The USGA and AJGA have been partnering since 2006 to encourage volunteerism and fundraising among young golfers. Each year, the USGA-AJGA Presidents’ Leadership Award recognizes one boy and one girl who performed exemplary service to their communities. The matching grant for Leadership Links is an extension of that partnership.
“It has been inspirational to see so many junior golfers actively serving their communities in recent years,” said Stephen Hamblin, AJGA executive director. “We hope the USGA’s matching funds will motivate even more young people to raise money for grassroots junior golf charities.”
The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. The AJGA provides valuable exposure for college golf scholarships, and has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of approximately 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and 30 countries. To ensure scholarship opportunities for all junior golfers who have the skill, the AJGA created the Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant program to provide financial assistance to young players in need.
Titleist, the AJGA’s National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association’s success since 1989. Rolex Watch USA, which is in its third decade of AJGA support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. In 2007, after 12 years of support, Polo Ralph Lauren became the AJGA’s second Premier Partner.
AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. Former AJGA juniors have compiled more than 400 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Stewart Cink, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel.
For more information, please contact Rob Coleman (rcoleman@ajga.org) in the AJGA Communications Department at (678) 425-1779. Formore information about the USGA, visit www.usga.org
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