Forces golf charity On Course Foundation was celebrating a late Christmas present yesterday as American Golf handed over a cheque for £11,649, raised by its customers over the festive period.
The money was raised by the American Golf Christmas raffle, plus two smaller initiatives, held across the company’s stores in the run up to Christmas. All proceeds go towards American Golf’s nominated charity, On Course Foundation, which uses golf in the rehabilitation of wounded, sick and injured Service personnel, and helps many of its beneficiaries to find work experience or jobs in the golf industry.
The top prize of a golf break, including golf and dinner, at one of the five Marriot UK venues went to Gary Brookes, who purchased his ticket at the Merry Hill store in Dudley, while second prize of a fitted TaylorMade M4 driver went to Graeme Allen who bought his ticket at Trent Park in North London.
Upon receiving the donation from American Golf, Alistair McKay Forbes, Managing Director at On Course Foundation commented: “We’re so grateful to the customers of American Golf and wish to pass on our sincere thanks for their generosity this Christmas. The donation that they have raised will contribute greatly to the continued support we are able to give wounded, injured and sick Service personnel and will make a real difference to many people’s lives. Golf can have a truly life changing effect for our beneficiaries and it is hugely satisfying to see so many golfers sharing the game through their generosity.”
The raffle is just one of several initiatives American Golf has in place as part of its ongoing commitment to On Course Foundation. Nina Bebbington, Brand Marketing Manager at American Golf, said: “We are so proud that our customers have got behind our fundraising efforts for On Course Foundation. The money we have raised will allow them to help even more service personnel through golf. As many people will already know, we work extremely closely with the charity, raising money to help continue their amazing work through various campaigns, as well as helping to find employment opportunities for their beneficiaries wherever we can.”
From all of American Golf’s 10o-plus stores across the UK & Ireland, the stand out store for fundraising was once again Plymouth, who achieved the same top spot when American Golf ran its Christmas raffle in 2018. Plymouth’s golfers showed off the town’s military heritage as they dug deep during the festive period, buying 1,075 tickets in a month, compared to 631 in the second placed store, Braid Hills in Edinburgh. The deep pockets of Plymouth’s golfers helped to confirm the South as the most generous region, with 4,034 of the total ticket sales coming from the region.
The donation of £9,000 marks the first of American Golf’s fundraising efforts for the year. With the help of its customers’ generosity, American Golf is planning to help bring the game of golf, and help change the lives, of many more beneficiaries of On Course Foundation through 2019.