ANDOVER, Mass. – PGA REACH New England and the New England PGA Section hosted the Third Annual Birdies 2 Benefit fundraiser on Monday, August 14th at Andover Country Club. NEPGA Professionals raised over $200,000 for three amazing charities: PGA REACH New England, Special Olympics Massachusetts, and Boston Children’s Hospital.
35 players, in combinations of twosomes, threesomes, or single players, set out to play 54 holes of golf at Andover Country Club with the mission to make as many birdies as possible. In total, the B2B squad racked up 566 birdies in the scramble or individual stroke play format event.
Team NACC Nines, consisting of Matt Lombard, PGA (North Andover CC), Rob Neaton, and Nathan Myers, PGA (Ipswich CC) tallied the most birdies in the event, with a total of 50 birdies. Team NACC Nines also raised a total of $5,025.00.
Team Holy Ridge raised an impressive $35,051.00 for the three non-profit organizations with a total birdie count of 36. This team included Darren Falk, PGA, Jennifer O’Connor, PGA, and Joe O’Connor, PGA all from Holly Ridge GC.
Just behind team Holly Ridge in donation dollars was Team Bay Club, raising $34,984.00. Team Bay Club, consisting of Ben Egan, PGA, Justin DeBortoli, and Brady Weglowski, from The Bay Club at Mattapoisett, brought in the highest per birdie pledge, receiving $347 for all 36 bridies made.
Weglowski, a patient of Boston Children’s Hospital, has raised over one million dollars for the hospital. He was proud to be a part of the event this year; “As somebody who has been impacted through the funding of Birdies 2 Benefit, it means a lot to everyone in the hospital,” he said. “Especially during the holidays and birthdays…this goes a long way for a lot of people”.
Representatives from both Boston Children’s Hospital and Special Olympics Massachusetts were on site for the third annual event.
“We are truly blown away by this effort every single year,” said Jess Brandi, Senior Officer, Special Events at Boston Children’s Hospital. “For you all to beat last year’s total, it is a testament to how hard you all work to fundraise and collect pledges. All of this funding supports our Child Life team. You are bringing so much joy to the hospital. That’s the whole motto for Child Life… to make sure children can celebrate their birthdays, the holidays… that they have joy in every day.”
Mikey, JJ, and Tyler, three Special Olympic Massachusetts Athletes joined the NEPGA for the day of fundraising. Tyler joined the intern team for their third round of the day and contributed to nine of the 27 birdies made with the team raising $1,906.00.
“We couldn’t do what we do without funding from partners like the New England PGA,” said Steve Huftalen, Executive Vice President of Development and Marketing, Special Olympics – MA. “It’s a real privilege to be associated with the New England PGA here in Massachusetts. We pride ourselves on providing sports and competition at every level. To be partnered with the top of all sports industries is amazing for us”.
In just three years, PGA REACH New England and the NEPGA have raised over $645,000 for the three non-profit organizations.
PGA REACH New England would like to thank Andover Country Club and the Cormier Family for once again hosting the Birdies 2 Benefit fundraiser.
This year, PGA REACH New England and the NEPGA proudly welcomed the first supporting partner of the Birdies 2 Benefit initiative, UKG (Ultimate Kronos Group). UKG has made a two-year commitment to support the Birdies 2 Benefit cause as the Official Player’s Partner.
“UKG is proud to support the charitable charter of Bridies 2 Benefit,” said Jody Piper, Manager of Field Marketing. “As strong believers in the power of culture and belonging as the secret to success, UKG champions great workplaces and builds lifelong partnerships. Birdies 2 Benefit is such a creative way for the New England golf community to raise awareness and funds for such worthy causes.”
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UKG
At UKG, our purpose is people. As strong believers in the power of culture and belonging as the secret to success, we champion great workplaces and build lifelong partnerships with our customers to show what’s possible when businesses invest in their people. One of the world’s leading HCM cloud companies today, UKG and our Life-work Technology approach to HR, payroll, and workforce management solutions for all people helps more than 75,000 organizations around the globe and across every industry anticipate and adapt to their employees’ needs beyond just work. To learn more, visit ukg.com.
PGA REACH New England has and will continually work to promote the game and improve the lives of thousands of children, veterans, and their families, as well as diverse populations through the creation and utilization of golf programming that supports education, health and wellness, and personal development.
Boston Children’s Hospital is dedicated to improving and advancing the health and well-being of children around the world through its life-changing work in clinical care, biomedical research, medical education, and community engagement. Boston Children’s is ranked the number one pediatric hospital in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. It is home to the world’s largest pediatric research enterprise, and it is the leading recipient of pediatric research funding from the National Institutes of Health. It is the primary pediatric teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School. Boston Children’s treats more children with rare diseases and complex conditions than any other hospital.
Special Olympics – Massachusetts is spreading inclusion to every town, every city, every school, every workplace, every community across the Commonwealth. The athletes, coaches and volunteers of Special Olympics Massachusetts are changing the way the world sees individuals with intellectual disabilities. We provide year-round sports training and competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for all children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, prepare for entry into school and community programs, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in the sharing of gifts, skills and friendships with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.
Andover Country Club, the dream of William M. Wood, the colorful head of the American Woolen Company, was built on the site of Chandler Farm and opened to great fanfare in October 1925. The 18-hole course was originally conceived and adapted to the natural contour of the land by course architect, W.H. Follet and completed upon his death by the famed designer Donald Ross. The architecturally significant clubhouse, built in the Spanish style with stucco exterior and striking red tiled roof, opened its doors in April 1926 and maintains its distinctive style today.
Through the years the club has been maintained and improved, most significantly through the ownership of Yvon Cormier who purchased the club in 1979 from the Donahue and Davidson families and set out to expand and redefine what today’s country club should be. Under Mr. Cormier’s stewardship, the clubhouse was completely renovated and enlarged adding hotel rooms, elegant dining facilities and ballrooms for events of all kinds and sizes from weddings, charity events and business functions to tournaments and golf outings.