The PGA TOUR and TOUR Championship recently announced that just over $3 million was donated from the 2018 TOUR Championship, according to a press release. A tournament record, more than $29 million will be invested in local nonprofits since the event was first staged at East Lake Golf Club in 1998. Proceeds from the tournament primarily benefit the East Lake Foundation and other local nonprofits including, the Grove Park Foundation, Purpose Built Schools Atlanta, and The First Tee of Atlanta.
Founded in 1995, the East Lake Foundation was formed to revitalize a suffering inner city neighborhood into a vibrant community where all residents can thrive. The East Lake revitalization includes, The Villages of East Lake mixed-income apartment homes; Charles R. Drew Charter School, serving more than 1,800 children from Pre-K through grade 12; the East Lake Family YMCA; Sheltering Arms East Lake, the 9-hole public Charlie Yates Golf Course, and East Lake Golf Club.
Hope is building in East Lake. Violent crime has been cut 97 percent since 1995, while school test scores and property values have surged. The success of the East Lake Initiative serves as a blueprint for a national model of holistic community redevelopment through Purpose Built Communities, established in 2009. Today, there are 19 additional Purpose Built Communities across the country and in Atlanta’s Grove Park neighborhood that are successfully creating opportunities for residents, and building strong, economically diverse communities that thrive.
In addition to the East Lake Foundation that has been supported by the TOUR Championship since it was first staged at East Lake Golf Club since 1998, the TOUR Championship now supports both the Grove Park Foundation and Purpose Built Schools Atlanta, which will allow the TOUR Championship to connect more communities and organizations engaged in holistic community revitalization to each other and to one of the greatest annual sporting events in Atlanta.
All three organizations are working to create healthy, equitable and vibrant neighborhoods by providing high quality education for economically disadvantaged children and comprehensive support for families.
The TOUR Championship’s donation will also benefit The First Tee, an international youth development organization designed to impact the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build character, instill life-enhancing values and promote healthy choices through the game of golf. The First Tee of East Lake serves as a local chapter of the organization to help young residents learn fundamental lessons in life and golf.
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