Foundation providing relief in US, Canada, the U.K. and right here in the Bluegrass
Nicholasville, Kentucky (June 2, 2020) – The Barbasol Championship today expressed its gratitude to the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation, who recently donated 100,000 meals to God’s Pantry Food Bank in the name of the tournament’s 2019 champion, Jim Herman.
Last month, the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation announced a campaign of charitable efforts to support people impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Called “#LikeArnie,” the campaign operates from the premise that “hungry kids can’t learn” and aims to support youth and educators across the country, including those in several PGA TOUR event communities.
“While this overwhelming gesture of goodwill, and a pleasant surprise, I don’t think anyone in the golf world was shocked by it,” said Barbasol Championship Tournament Director Bryan Pettigrew. “Arnold Palmer was one of the greatest to ever play our game and his philanthropic efforts and passion to make a difference in the lives of others is legendary. The #LikeArnie campaign aligns perfectly with our Caddie127 mission of caring for children in Kentucky.”
Through the Feeding America® member food banks, #LikeArnie will support the provision of nutritious food to children in Orlando, Fla. (the Foundation’s home city and site of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard), in Arnold Palmer’s hometown of Latrobe, Pa., and in nearby Pittsburgh. In addition, Feeding America food banks, Food Banks Canada, and FareShare in the U.K. have received gifts in support of 10 communities that were impacted by the cancelation of PGA TOUR events.
“As part of our ongoing commitment to children’s health and in response to the COVID crisis, we feel fortunate to be able to support important medical and nutrition needs and to help address the educational challenges articulated by caring teachers on behalf of their students,” said Amy Palmer Saunders, Chair of the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation.
One component of the #LikeArnie Campaign is Solidarity with “Sister Events” on the PGA TOUR and Honoring Champions
Feeding America® member food banks in the U.S. as well as Food Banks Canada and FareShare in the U.K., Amy Palmer Saunders comments: “We held the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard early in the season, before COVID’s impact was completely understood and before important social distancing protocols were put into place in the United States. Many of our ‘sister’ tournaments on the PGA TOUR were not so fortunate, and their cancellations greatly impacted their communities. Like our Invitational, these events make a real difference in their communities and we wanted to do what we could. By supporting pantries in communities affected by tournament cancellations, we honor our ‘sister events’ and do our part as a member of the TOUR family.”
The benefiting Feeding America® member food banks pantries include:
1. Feeding America Northeast Florida (THE PLAYERS Championship)
2. Feeding Tampa Bay (Valspar Championship)
3. Central Texas Food Bank (Dell Technologies Match Play)
4. San Antonio Food Bank (Valero Texas Open)
5. Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana(Zurich Classic of New Orleans)
6. Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina (Wells Fargo Championship)
7. North Texas Food Bank (AT&T Byron Nelson)
8. God’s Pantry Food Bank, Inc. (Barbasol Championship)
Saunders also acknowledged the 2019 champions of these events: “There was something particularly special about the competition and camaraderie my dad felt in defending a tournament success. We appreciate the fortitude it takes for champions from recently canceled or moved events to await their opportunity to defend their titles, and we want them to know that we look forward to their future competition. In their honor, we are supporting students and teachers as they persist with much greater challenges during the COVID crisis. Funding a new initiative called Keep Kids Learning, part of DonorsChoose, we want to help ensure that devoted teachers and students from underserved communities succeed in their efforts.”
God’s Pantry Food Bank will receive 100,000 meals to feed local families in central and eastern Kentucky. “Thanks to the generosity of the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation we’re able to better navigate these uncertain and unprecedented times and help get food to even more people in our community who are hungry,” said Michael Halligan, God’s Pantry Food Bank CEO.
Media Contacts:
Dan Koett, Barbasol Championship: [email protected]; 859-797-3646
Liz McCollum, BZA PR: [email protected]; 813-421-0550
Dana Gordon, BZA PR: [email protected]; 856-397-2917
Megan Miller, Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation: [email protected]
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About the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation The Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation champions the Palmers’ legacy through grantmaking and initiatives. We honor and celebrate their devotion to youth – encouraging strong character and supporting children facing health challenges – and honor their commitment to nature and its ability to enrich and heal us. Learn more at: www.PalmerFoundation.org
About DonorsChoose DonorsChoose is the leading way to give to public school teachers. Since 2000, more than
4 million people and partners have contributed $950 million to support 1.6 million teacher requests for classroom resources and experiences. As the most trusted crowdfunding platform for teachers, donors, and district administrators alike, DonorsChoose vets each request, ships the funded resources directly to teachers, and provides thank yous and reporting to donors and school leaders. Learn more at: www.DonorsChoose.org.
About Feeding America® Feeding America® is the largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs, we provide meals to more than
40 million people each year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; we educate the public about the problem of hunger; and we advocate for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Individuals, charities, businesses and government all have a role in ending hunger. Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Educate. Together we can solve hunger. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
About God’s Pantry The mission of God’s Pantry Food Bank is to reduce hunger in Kentucky through community cooperation making the best possible use of all available resources. God’s Pantry is celebrating sixty-five years of serving the community. To learn more about God’s Pantry Food Bank, please visit godspantry.org
About Caddie127 The Barbasol Championship’s charitable arm, Caddie127, reflects the biblical principle from James 1:27 “to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” Just as Caddies support golfers, Caddie127 supports Kentucky philanthropic organizations that benefit and empower women and children. Caddie127 has named All God’s Children, Kentucky Children’s Hospital (UK HealthCare), the Kentucky Region of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Refuge for Women, and the Woodhill Community Center as their 2020 charitable partners. For more information please visit barbasolchampionship.com/charities.
About the Barbasol Championship The 2021 Barbasol Championship is a PGA TOUR event that will be played July 15 – 18, 2021 at Champions at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky, a suburb of Lexington. Champions is an Arthur Hills designed golf course conveniently located one hour from Cincinnati and Louisville. The Barbasol Championship provides its winner with 300 FedEx Cup Points and a two-year PGA TOUR exemption and a trip to the PGA Championship. The 2019 winner of the Barbasol Championship was Jim Herman. For more information, please visit barbasolchampionship.com.
