The NCGA Foundation
FIVE THINGS ABOUT THE NCGA FOUNDATION
1 Youth development
is our focus: golf is the vehicle to teach life skills and core values
2 We reach
deserving youth who really need someone to care
3 Youth on Course
is expanding to include a mentoring component, job opportunities and scholarships
4 We are VERY
efficient—approx- imately 90% of the funds raised support deserving youth
More than $1,000,000 was invested in deserving youth in 2009
5
Q&A with Foundation President Paul Morton
Q: The Foundation has grown tremendously over the past five years. What are you most proud of?
PAUL MORTON: I’m pleased we’ve brought the game of golf to kids as a means of teaching them skills to succeed in life. I feel very fortunate to have played the game growing up and while it took me some time to learn all the skills the game has to teach, I believe they have served me well through the years. I’m also delighted we can build on other programs, First Tee included, and keep these youth on course to a better future. When I leave a course or practice facility having seen the proud and pleased looks on our participants’ faces and watch them develop over the course of a few hours or a few weeks, I feel very good about what we’re doing.
Donate now at www.ncgafoundation.org
Q: Youth on Course is a pioneering program that has been duplicated state- wide and gained national interest. Talk about the sig- nificance of the program.
MORTON: Well, it is clear we found a need and filled it. A total of 15,000 kids and
some 125,000 subsidized rounds of golf later we know there were—and are—kids who want to con- tinue learning the lessons that come from playing golf. Through the NCGA Foundation, they do so for less than five dollars a round! The way we see it, the time spent on the golf course is teaching the values of the game, and to a great extent the youth we’re working with have told us that if they were not on the golf course, they would be sitting on a couch playing video games, or possibly finding some form of trouble. Now, even better, we’re seeing kids who came into the pro- gram looking for answers, providing guidance and mentoring other youth. The cumulative effect can be powerful.
Q: Why should someone give money to the NCGA Foundation?
MORTON: If you love kids, and you believe golf can make a positive difference in shaping character, this is a program you should sup- port. More than 90 cents of every dollar goes straight to the kids—so we’re mak-
ing a difference, and we make every dollar count.
Q: What will the next five years look like? How are you planning to expand?
MORTON: Youth on Course found its niche because kids wanted “more”. . . increased exposure to the game and the skills it teaches. Now, we have learned “more” can take on additional dimensions so we are exploring ways to provide a continuum of choices for youth. We know there are kids who want to explore golf as a career—not necessarily playing it, but working in the industry, part time or more than that. Plus, there are youth who didn’t have ANY goals before who now want to attend college but may need scholarship support. If we can offer a grant that allows a golf facility to put some kids to work, or introduce educational scholarships we can really make a difference in new and exciting ways. These kids will see a world of possibilities that didn’t exist for them before—all because someone cared.
72 NCGA Golf SPRING 2010
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