HGA Community Outreach
Since 1974 Houston Golf Association's volunteers have generated more than $55.2 million for local worthy causes through the Shell Houston Open and other golf-related activities. Promoting golf for the benefit of local charity has long been HGA's mission statement. The HGA raises money for charity through the Shell Houston Open PGA TOUR event in three distinct ways:
- Net proceeds from tournament revenues. A good portion of these funds are targeted for the tournament's Benefiting Charities who supply volunteers for the event.
- Direct contributions through the Charity Partners program in which a portion of the sponsorship fee is allocated for agencies chosen to receive those funds by the sponsor. Nearly 200 different organizations have received funding through this program. Click here to view a list of the most recent beneficiaries.
- Collecting the monetary pledges that participating organizations in the Birdies for Charity program secure from donors. HGA provides collateral material for non-profit organizations to use when they solicit pledges based on the number of birdies made by competitors in the Shell Houston Open. All of the collected pledges go to the participating organizations.
HGA Youth Programs
Long recognized for providing a moderately priced tournament program for junior golfers between the ages of 12-18, the Houston Golf Association continues to broaden its outreach. It funds the following programs:
The First Tee of Greater Houston, a program used to teach basic life skills and introduce youngsters to all the best things about golf and its character-building ability. HGA has also funded a program that introduces The First Tee Life Skills curricula into 11 school districts and more than 140 schools.
The Houston Golf Association Scholarship Program, which has funded more than $860,000 in academic scholarships since 1996. These scholarships are awarded based on academics and need. Golf skills are not part of the selection process.
The HGA Junior Golf Program, which provides tournament competition on some of the area's best courses throughout the year.
