GCRO fund-raising chairman Roger Fuller (center), flanked by GCRO co-founder Jim McPartland (immediate right) present another $8,000 check to the Iowa PGA Foundation for its Swings with Kids initiative. Also in the photo (left to right) Aaron Krueger, PGA; Erin Strieck, IPGA board member; Matt Sherlock, PGA; Brian Wilson, PGA and Greg Mason, PGA. The GCRO has contributed $32,000 to the IPGA program.
With its 21stannual tournament only two months away, the TrueNorth Greater Cedar Rapids Open, presented by United Fire Group, has announced a record charitable contribution of $22,525 back to the community from its 2018 tournament.
Because of their donors’ staunch support of the 54-hole professional golf tournament, the GCRO has increased its total charitable donations to community organizations and projects to $200,000 over its first 20 years.
Topping the list for the 2019 donations was another $8,000 to the Iowa PGA Foundation’s “Swings with Kids” initiative. The latest contribution to that youth program was earmarked for the Linn-Mar Community School District and its seven elementary schools. The “Swings with Kids” program will equip, provide a physical education curriculum and professional instruction dedicated to the game of golf for those schools.
With the latest donation, the GCRO has made a total contribution of $32,000 over the last four years to have the Swings with Kids program started in the elementary schools of all three public school districts in the Greater Cedar Rapids area: Cedar Rapids Community School District, Marion Independent School District and now the Linn-Mar district.
“Among our missions for the Greater Cedar Rapids Open is to promote the game of golf as a lesson in life and as the game of a lifetime,” said GCRO co-founder and tournament director Jim McPartland. “It would be hard to find a better vehicle to accomplish that than through the Iowa PGA’s Swings with Kids program. We are happy to be the main contributor to that program for all the schools in Cedar Rapids and the surrounding communities. We are excited to have the opportunity to introduce the game of golf and its valuable lessons to all the youth in our area.
“We are extremely pleased and proud as an organization to be able to make the contributions we have made over the years,” continued McPartland. “We have our tremendous sponsors and donors to thank for that. Many of them have stood by us for many years and believe in our mission.”
For more information on the Iowa PGA initiative, go to https://www.iowapgajuniorgolf.com/swing-with-kids-overview/.
Other organizations the GCRO gave back to in 2018 included:
- $2,000 to the Cedar Rapids Optimist Junior Golf Association, which annually organizes at least five golf tournaments locally for junior boys and girls ages 8-18.
- $2,025, divided in varying amounts, to the golf programs at seven different high schoolsin the Corridor that participated in the GCRO Caddie Program last year. The GCRO also paid out $2,025 directly to the caddies of the 2019 tournament for their work.
- $2,000 to the GIVE Foundation. GIVE stands for Golf for Injured Veterans Everywhere and is an Iowa-based collaboration between the Iowa Veterans Administration, the Riverside Casino & Golf Resort and the Iowa PGA. For more info go here http://giveforveterans.com
- $2,000 to the Cedar Rapids Salvation Army junior programs.
- $2,000 to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Cedar Rapids.
- $2,000 to Camp Courageous.
- $2,000 to Four Oaks agency.
- $500 to the Firehouse Subs Foundation.
The 21stGCRO will kick off Tuesday, July 23 with two Pro/Ams, the Culver’s Restaurants Junior Golf Clinic and the 3rd annual Coca-Cola Mascot Challenge, all at Hunters Ridge Golf Course in Marion. There will be a third Pro-Am on Wednesday, July 24 before the Granite City Food & Brewery Pro/Am Dinner Party that evening.
The 54-hole professional golf tournament will begin Thursday, July 25 with more than 120 golfers from around the country and world. There will be a cut after Friday’s second round and the 54-hole tournament will conclude Saturday, July 27.
The champion will earn a check for $30,000 again this year. Admission is free.
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