The ViaQuest Foundation Hosts Golf Clinic For Youth With Behavioral Challenges & Developmental Disabilities
PGA TOUR MEMBERS JERRY KELLY AND LUCAS GLOVER OFFERED ADVICE AND SUPPORT FOR YOUNG ADULTS & KIDS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
Columbus, OH (May 29, 2007) – The ViaQuest Foundation, a not-for-profit organization, hosted its second annual golf clinic for youth with special needs yesterday evening. The ViaQuest Foundation golf clinic provides youth with special needs an opportunity to meet celebrity golfers and to put to practice the life skills developed through The ViaQuest Foundation Golf and Life Skills Program.
The golf clinic, held at the Golf Centre of Dublin, is an annual event, open and free of charge to ViaQuest Foundation consumers and any youth with special needs.
To kick off the event, USGA of America presented a $31,000 “For the Good of the Game” Grant, part of USGA’s commitment to providing opportunities for personal development through golf and its values. USGA grants empower organizations that introduce the game to people who would otherwise not have the opportunity, specifically kids from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and individuals with disabilities.
PGA Tour Members Jerry Kelly and Lucas Glover – participants in the 2007 Memorial Tournament – made a special appearance to provide a golf demonstration and to spend time with the youth. With a busy week ahead of them, Kelly and Glover spent over two hours working with youth with special needs.
Also present at The ViaQuest Foundation Golf Clinic were representatives from the Ohio State University Varsity Men’s and Women’s Golf Teams, who provided an inspirational golf demonstration by breaking down the “wall of limitations,” a foam board with the words “misfit,” “hopelessness,” “failure,” “rejection” and “alone” painted on the front. One by one, the Ohio State Golf team members took turns driving golf balls through the wall, helping to dispel the myths about youth with special needs.
“This year’s golf clinic was an incredible experience for The ViaQuest Foundation consumers and youth with special needs. Giving these individuals the chance to develop life skills and putting those skills to use in the community – that’s what The ViaQuest Foundation is all about,” stated Derek Kinzer, PGA professional and Program Director for the ViaQuest Foundation.
About the USGA’s “For the Good of the Game” Grant
Through its ongoing “For the Good of the Game” Grants Initiative, the USGA provides opportunities for personal development through the game of golf. By empowering organizations that reach out to children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and individuals with disabilities, the USGA has helped bring the game to more than 150,000 kids each year who would ordinarily not have the opportunity to play. Grant awards support instructional programs, caddie and other work-based curriculums, and the construction of facilities that make the game both more affordable and accessible while teaching the true spirit of the game- integrity, discipline, honor, leadership and sportsmanship. Since 1997, the USGA has awarded nearly $48 million through the “For the Good of the Game” Grants Initiative.