Representatives from 13 local organizations gathered during the Giving Back Breakfast at the Sonoma Golf Club. From left to right Schwab Cup Chair David Grieve; Debbie Sweek of Young Life Sonoma; Kris Van Giesen, Hanna Boys Center; Adam Heieck, Northern California Golf Association; Annie Bacon of Seeds of Learning; Mark Nelson representing the Gary and Marcia Nelson Fund; Amber Behrens, Sonoma County Childrens Charities; Carolyn Stone, Sonoma Valley Hospital Fund; Nancy Sebastiani, Presentation School; David Pier of Boys & Girls Club Valley of the Moon; Kenneth Ramirez, Vineyard Workers Services; Anna Pier of CommonBond; Francine Maffei, Presentation School; Jason Zajonc, Twin Valley Aquatics; Val Verhunce, SSU Golf Coach; and Leon Gilmore, Exectuive Director, Schwab Cup Championship.
Photo by Dana Torzilli
On Valentines Day, last Thursday, at its annual Giving Back Breakfast at the Sonoma Golf Club, the Charles Schwab Cup Championship presented a total of $400,000 to Sonoma non-profit organizations. Recipients included the Sonoma Valley Hospital Emergency Room, Presentation School, Vineyard Workers Services, First Tee, and others.
This event is part of the PGA Tour’s year-long points race that begins in Hawaii, in January, and culminates in Sonoma, in October. Leon Gilmore, Executive Director, Charles Schwab Cup Championship, explained how it works. “Every tournament has a point value for the top ten players and those players receive points, and those points are tabulated through the year and at the end of the year, the leader will be crowned here in Sonoma.” The race benefits Sonoma indirectly, through great public relations. “Not only does the tour begin in Hawaii and end in Sonoma,” said Gilmore, “but every day we’re talking about Sonoma, California.”
The Championship also benefits Sonoma directly through its generous gifts. “The reason we exist is to put on great events,” said Gilmore, “and give the money back to the community.” In 2006 the PGA Tour crossed $1 billion in giving. “We take in, recycle, and give back to the community.” This year’s $400,000 is a record high, and the money will go where it will can get right to work. Part of Gilmore’s challenge is figuring where best that is.
“I want to understand how we, as the PGA Tour, Charles Schwab Cup Championship, can be a good citizen. What does Sonoma need?” This year, the hospital was an obvious candidate. “So we provided a gift of a significant amount of money to Gary and Marcia Nelson, who have a fund for the emergency room at the Sonoma Valley Hospital.”
Another donation went to Vineyard Worker Services. “In my opinion, wine is so important in this area, and the workers in the field are so important, we saw them and we said, Hey, we’re going to give you some money to help them.” Vineyard Workers Services was incorporated in 1995 as a non-profit organization devoted to better the quality of life of the farm workers whose labor keeps Sonoma’s vineyards among the best in the world.
Presentation School, another beneficiary of the Tour’s success, will continue the “recyclling” process through its own outreach program, which teaches young students the value of giving back. The program recently focused on the victims of the tsunami in Indonesia. After researching needs, the entire student body and school community raised enough money to buy three boats for fishermen in a small village outside of Sri Lanka. These boats afforded the locals the opportunity to return to work and once again to earn their livelihood from the natural resource of the ocean.
The Road to the Charles Schwab Cup will crown a season-long winner in Sonoma Oct. 28 through Nov. 2 at Sonoma Golf Club. For more information, visit www.charlesschwabcupchampionship.com or call 707-939-4133.
