Birdies for Charity to Raise Funds for Local Groups

Illinois PGA Professionals will play golf for a great cause on Tuesday, September 4th at the 8th Annual “Birdies for Charity” fundraiser at River Forest Country Club. The goal of the event is to raise money for select charitable groups by making as many birdies as they can while playing up to 90 holes in one day.

Donors can make a financial pledge per birdie to support a participating professional.

The first Birdies for Charity event in 2011 included 14 local PGA professionals, who helped raise $40,000. Last year 35 PGA pros raised $268,000 for Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, JDRF, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana and the Illinois PGA Foundation. In seven years, this fundraising program has generated $1.18 million for the charities.

Many of the area’s top professionals are scheduled to participate, including the 2018 Illinois PGA Match Play Champion Garrett Chaussard, who is the director of Instruction at Skokie Country Club. The goal this year for Birdies for Charity is to raise a collective $300,000 for the worthy organizations.

This year, Birdies for Charity is being conducted with the Illinois PGA Section, as well as the Central Illinois PGA Chapter, benefiting six different charities.

JDRF

JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. JDRF’s goal is to progressively remove the impact of T1D from people’s lives until we achieve a world without T1D. Since inception, JDRF has contributed more than $2B to T1D research and it is currently funding 50 human clinical trials of potential T1D therapies.

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana

The mission of Ronald McDonald House Charities is to care for families of children with complex medical needs by providing a ‘home away from home’ just steps from where their child is being treated in the hospital. Ronald McDonald Houses are located near Advocate Children’s Hospital, Loyola University Medical Center, University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, and Edward Hospital in Naperville.

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is a state-of-the-art hospital located in downtown Chicago on the campus of its academic partner, Northwester University Feinberg School of Medicine. The hospital is ranked as one of the nation’s top children’s hospitals in U.S. News & World Report. The hospital relies on philantrhopic support to care for more than 153,000 children each year.

IPGA Foundation

The Illinois PGA Foundation is the charitable arm of the Illinois Section PGA. The organization focuses its community efforts on promoting the goodwill and growth of the game with an emphasis on activities that benefit youth. Illinois PGA Foundation initiatives include GolfWorks Illinois, ipgabirdiesforcharity.com, a youth-based scholarship and grants program, Illinois Golf Hall of Fame and support of The First Tee of Greater Chicago.

Boys & Girls Club of Decatur

Boys & Girls Clubs help millions of kids and teens develop essential skills, make lasting connections and have fun. Club members experience a safe place to learn, play and grow, supportive relationships with caring mentors, enriching programs, experiences and activities.

OSF Children’s Hospital of Illinois

OSF Children’s Hospital of Illinois is a 136-bed, full service pediatric hospital on the campus of OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. With more than 140 subspecialists, OSF Children’s Hospital of Illinois is the major pediatric teaching facility of the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria.

To make a pledge or to learn more about the event, visit the Birdies for Charity website.