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Valero Texas Open Grants

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Valero Texas Open Grants

The morning of March 25, in the picturesque and historic setting of San Antonio’s Alamo Plaza, representatives from Golf San Antonio awarded grants totaling more than $300,000 to ten charitable organizations. The awards marked the final contributions from the 2008 Valero Texas Open and the Valero Texas Open Benefit for Children event; which together generated $8.5 million for charity.

Joe Linson, Golf San Antonio’s volunteer chairman, and Phil Crane, Chairman of Golf San Antonio’s charity committee, were on hand to announce and congratulate the recipients. The ten were chosen from a pool of 44 charities that submitted grants to GSA’s charity committee. Each was eligible to submit a grant request because of their performance in Birdies for Charity; a grass roots fundraising program linked to the Valero Texas Open. 170 charities participated in 2008 and collectively generated nearly $1.3 million in collected pledges.

Grants were awarded to organizations that the charity committee believed best met Golf  San Antonio’s selection criteria – a compelling story, a clear description of the specific planned use for donated funds, the number of individuals that would be impacted by the contribution and the organization’s fundraising results in Birdies for Charity.

Joe Linson noted that the charity committee expanded its reach this year to recognize a larger number of charities than in past years. Given today’s challenging economic times and the growing need for services in a number of communities, it made sense for Golf San Antonio to expand its giving to touch more organizations in a meaningful way.  

Grants of $50,000 were awarded to Any Baby Can, Blessed Sacrament Academy, Mission Road Ministries, and Slam Dunk for Life, Inc. Grants of $25,000 were given to Boys scouts of America – Alamo Area Council, Child Advocates of San Antonio (CASA), Respite Care of San Antonio, and YWCA Corpus Christi. Boys and Girls Clubs of San Antonio and Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children each received $5,000.

The grant money will support a variety of important initiatives; from providing prescriptions to infants and children for Any Baby Can families to providing financial peace classes to young adults at Blessed Sacrament Academy. Mission Road Ministries will place a hub for all communication systems in their new Oppenheimer Center. And Slam Dunk for Life will provide nearly 2,000 middle school students a chance to attend a summer basketball or fine arts camp.

Golf San Antonio will begin accepting applications in July for grant awards generated from proceeds of the 2009 Valero Texas Open. Applications will only be available to charities and schools participating in the Birdies for Charity® and Chip In for Schools programs. To be eligible to submit a grant, charities must be in the programs for at least one year and generate a minimum of $1,000 in collected funds.