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Alyssa Getty was just 10 years old when she decided to
use golf as a platform to give to others after meeting an eight year old boy at
her home golf course with cancer.
“He told me that he was part of a Kids Kicking Cancer
program and it helped him through,” Getty said. “I knew I wanted to help in any
way I could.”
While the game of golf is a huge part of AJGA juniors’ lives,
it certainly isn’t the only part. Juggling time between the practice range and school,
many juniors are also involved in added school programs, additional sports,
family and of course time with friends. On top of all of these things, some
AJGA juniors go above and beyond to giving back to their community through
charitable works.
Alyssa Getty of Leamington, Ontario, is one of the AJGA
members involved in the Leadership Links Program, a program dedicated to
further developing young men and women by teaching charitable giving skills and
service oriented practices at an early age. As an organization dedicated to the
overall growth and development of young men and women, the AJGA supports these
juniors through the Leadership Links program by giving juniors all the tools
necessary to donate their time, talent and resources to local charities. Getty,
for example, is using her golf game as a platform to spread the word about Kids
Kicking Cancer with her local Transition to Betterness, Windsor – Essex
program.
“I do charity work anyways in my hometown and I
volunteered with young girls in junior golf in the past,” Getty said. “So when
the AJGA gave me the opportunity to come into Leadership Links I thought it
would be a good opportunity to expand my charity work.”
Through connections she has made on the golf course she
has been able to raise over $100 to give to the Kids Kicking Cancer program and
hopes to continue to spread the word with each AJGA tournament in which she
participates.
“I talk to people and parents that I meet at the golf
courses and friends that I have made through golf,” Getty said. “People have
been very supportive and willing to pledge toward my cause. It has gone really
well so far.”
Kids Kicking Cancer through Transition to Betterness,
Windsor – Essex program benefits children with Cancer by teaching martial arts
to calm and try to work through the pain of cancer using breathing exercises
and meditation. Getty recognized the importance of children relieving stress
and pain through her own experience on the golf course.
“I thought it fit in with golf since golf is very much a
mental game,” She said. “You have to be able to calm yourself on the course
between shots, so I felt a connection with what the program was teaching the
kids.”
Not only does Getty raise money for the program, she has
also attended classes in the past to work with the kids and hopes to attend
more in the future. .
“I just want people to listen to the story of these
kids,” Getty said. “I want to spread the word and continue to raise money for
the program.”
For more information about the AJGA Leadership Links
program please visit: http://www.ajga.org/LL/Index.asp
For more information about Alyssa Getty and the Kids
Kicking Cancer program please visit:
https://www.ajga.org/PIF/HomePages/index2.asp?UID=113671
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