PGA TOUR: United We Serve

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Brett Quigley (left) and Kate and Justin Rose (right) have been a part of previous PGA TOUR food drives.

PGA TOUR launches 'Golf Fore Groceries' food drive
Aug. 18, 2009

The PGA TOUR launched its "Golf Fore Groceries" national food drive Tuesday to help combat hunger in America.

In supporting the White House's United We Serve initiative, the TOUR will host food drives this week through Sept. 7 across its national TPC Network and tournaments on the PGA TOUR, Nationwide Tour and Champions Tour.

In addition, the TOUR and Feeding America, one of the nation's top hunger-relief charities, have partnered to develop a virtual food drive at feedingamerica.org/pgatour.

"The PGA TOUR is proud to support United We Serve through this TOUR-wide Golf Fore Groceries initiative," said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. "As with any project of this nature, it's really our tournaments, volunteers and fans who make the impact on communities possible. We're glad to provide this platform and generate much-needed food and dollars for our neighbors in need."

While the TOUR has been advertising its support of United We Serve since the initiative's debut in late June, it has also created TV PSAs, radio spots and Web banners unveiled today to encourage fans to participate in the Golf Fore Groceries effort.

The TOUR has also devoted a Web page dedicated to the effort, PGATOUR.COM/serve, and is promoting Golf Fore Groceries in the social media sphere on Facebook and Twitter.

Each tournament has a unique promotional plan in place to reach out to people in the local community. While some tournaments are offering free admission with a donation, others are hosting additional events, such as the "Healthy Packs" program sponsored by the PGA TOUR Wives Association and State Street during the Deutsche Bank Championship. The TOUR Wives will fill 1,000 grocery bags with healthy snacks donated by Stop and Shop to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Fall River, Mass.

In a local TV PSA produced by PGA TOUR Productions, Dory Faxon, Boston resident and wife of PGA TOUR player Brad Faxon, urges locals to, "...join us in answering the call [to service] by bringing your canned and non-perishable food items to the Deutsche Bank Championship."

The TPC Network will feature a variety of events and promotions to engage club members and employees. From offering happy hour specials with a donation to holding golf-a-thons to raise money, the clubs have developed exciting ways to support the Golf Fore Groceries campaign. The involved clubs have also agreed to a competition among one another to see which club can collect the greatest amount of food and money.

Participating tournaments and TPCs include the following:

• PGA TOUR -- Wyndham Championship, The Barclays, Deutsche Bank Championship
• Nationwide Tour -- Christmas is October Classic, Northeast Pennsylvania Classic
• Champions Tour -- JELD-WEN Tradition, Boeing Classic, Walmart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach
• TPC Network -- TPC Boston, TPC Craig Ranch, TPC Deere Run, TPC Jasna Polana, TPC Las Vegas, TPC Louisiana, TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm, TPC River Highlands, TPC River's Bend, TPC San Francisco Bay at Stonebrae, TPC Sawgrass, TPC Scottsdale, TPC Southwind, TPC Sugarloaf, TPC Summerlin, TPC Twin Cities, TPC Wakefield Plantation.

As part of the virtual food drive, fans can fill an on-line refrigerator with groceries and then make a donation equal to that amount of money. For ever dollar donated, Feeding America can provide seven meals for a family in need. Fans have the option to connect their pledge to one of the tournaments or TPC Network of Clubs listed above.

"The economy has sent shockwaves through households across the country, challenging food banks to keep up with rising demand," said Vicki Escarra, President and CEO of Feeding America. "Due to the efficiency of Feeding America's network of food banks, making a donation to Feeding America is the best way to make the biggest impact in the fight against hunger. With one in eight Americans struggling with the issue of hunger, this campaign is a phenomenal way for people across the country to get involved with a national issue on a local level."

PGA TOUR joins President Obama's United We Serve
June 24, 2009

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- The PGA TOUR announced on Wednesday its support of United We Serve, a national effort launched by President Obama on June 22 aimed to engage more Americans in serving their communities throughout the summer. The TOUR is one of many professional sports leagues, entertainment organizations and other companies who will leverage resources to help make this initiative a success.

To learn more about President Obama's United We Serve effort, click here. • TOUR: Together, anything's possible

"This summer, I'm calling on all of you to make volunteerism and community service part of your daily life and the life of this nation," said President Obama in the video announcing United We Serve. "Economic recovery is as much about what you're doing in your communities as what we're doing in Washington -- and it's going to take all of us, working together."

"As part of our 'Together, anything's possible' platform, the PGA TOUR already has more than 100,000 volunteers working through TOUR events to better the communities in which they live, making it a natural fit for the TOUR to support this broader initiative brought forth by President Obama," said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. "We thank the President for making this call to service this summer and beyond, and we will work together in support of this effort."

United We Serve kicked off on June 22 and runs through Sept. 11, which will be marked for the first time as a national day of service and remembrance. The initiative focuses on four key areas: education; health; energy and the environment; and community renewal. It is being led by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that improves lives and strengthens communities though volunteering and service.

The TOUR will use its media assets -- in-telecast PSAs, PGATOUR.COM, SIRIUS XM Radio spots, electronic tournament scoreboards -- to drive awareness and promote United We Serve and the Web site www.serve.gov (click here).

In addition to applying existing TOUR, tournament and PGA TOUR Wives Association service projects toward the initiative, the PGA TOUR has committed to a food drive at tournaments from Aug. 17-Sept. 7, culminating with an event at the Deutsche Bank Championship. The food drive will take place across all three tours -- the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour -- as well as throughout the TPC Network. The following tournaments will participate as part of the food drive:

• PGA TOUR -- Wyndham Championship, The Barclays, Deutsche Bank Championship

• Nationwide Tour -- Christmas in October Classic, Northeast Pennsylvania Classic

• Champions Tour -- JELD-WEN Tradition, Boeing Classic, Walmart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach

To make it easy for individuals to get involved, the Corporation for National and Community Service created Serve.gov, a Web site that allows visitors to type in their zip code to find local volunteer opportunities, recruit volunteers by posting their organization's projects, or get ideas for creating their own projects with friends, families, and neighbors.