Empower Youth with First Tee - South Puget Sound
Steve's First Tee Fundraiser
Raised
Empower youth in our community by supporting First Tee - South Puget Sound! This is an organization I am incredibly passionate about and would love to introduce you to more. If you would like additional information about First Tee - South Puget Sound and how you can get involved, outside of this fundraising campaign, please reach out to me! Every dollar counts when it comes to empowering youth! No child is ever turned away from First Tee due to an inability to pay, because we believe all youth deserve access to the game of golf and its inherent life values.
First Tee is a youth development organization that enables kids to build the strength of character that empowers them through a lifetime of new challenges. By seamlessly integrating the game of golf with a life skills curriculum, we create active learning experiences that build inner strength, self-confidence, and resilience that kids can carry to everything they do.
- 1,547 unique youth impacted at 13 programming locations throughout Pierce, Kitsap, Thurston, and Cowlitz Counties
- 40,500 youth reached through the School Program at 83 schools including elementary, middle, and high schools
- 19,000 youth empowered through the Community Partner Program by providing programming at no charge to organizations such as Boys & Girls Clubs, Rescue Mission, Kings in Training, JBLM Military Youth, and more
- 60% of participants utilize the Youth Scholarship Fund for full or partial scholarships because we believe all youth deserve access to the game of golf and its inherent life values regardless of financial status
While we have had amazing participant moments during our ten years of programming, one memory that will never fade is that of Donté’s experience. Donté has been participating in First Tee programming since 2016 through our partnership with Kings in Training. In 2017, Donté’s father was sadly killed in a shooting in the streets of Tacoma, and he was left with very few people to turn to in his life. The partnership between Kings in Training and First Tee - South Puget gave Donte’ the outlet and safe space he needed to grow and learn.
In early 2018, Alex Davis, Kings in Training Executive Director and First Tee Board Member, approached First Tee and asked if we had any sets of golf clubs Donté could use. Alex told us how Donté wanted to learn the game of golf and what it meant to him to be able to come to Meadow Park. During our next programming session with Kings in Training, we gave Donté his very own set of golf clubs and told him anytime he wanted to come hit balls outside of programming he was welcome at Meadow Park. Donté teared up and gave us a big THANK YOU! He has come out to Meadow Park many times since and continues to work on his golf game, along with incorporating the Nine Core Values into his everyday life.