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2011 Blessings in a Backpack
JUSTIN ROSE RAISES $200,000 FOR BLESSINGS In A Backpack
London, 14th October, 2011 - English golfer Justin Rose last week raised $200,000 for the American based charity ‘Blessings in a Backpack' through a golf event that he hosted at the Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando.
Having recently won his third PGA Tour event at the BMW Championships in Chicago, Justin turned his attentions on Monday to help raise money for a charity that has become close to his and wife Kate's hearts. They were joined at Lake Nona by fellow golf pro's Ian Poulter and Gary Woodland along with his golf coach Sean Foley and Sir Nick Faldo for a pro-am event to raise funds for the Blessings in a Backpack cause. The key driver for raising money saw Justin and his fellow pro's being auctioned into teams by Sir Nick Faldo at the start of the event. Along with additional challenges and activities throughout the day, Justin was delighted to reach the figure of $200,000 as the total amount raised. He commented: "The Blessings in a Backpack project is something that is very close to our hearts now and to raise this sum of money through an event means so much to us and to the charity." He added: "The number of children that will benefit from this event is just fantastic and we will continue to help raise funds and support the charity as and where we can throughout the year."
Along with wife Kate, Justin has become actively involved in Blessings in a Backpack whose main focus is to ensure that underprivileged school children are receiving nourishment at weekends. Through the support of its partners and fund raisers, the charity provides school children with a backpack filled with easy-to-prepare and ready-to-eat food. For just $80, they are able to provide one child with a backpack during every weekend of a 38 week school year. Having launched in 2005 with two pilot schools, the charity now serves 20,000+ elementary school children across 19 states in the US.
Earlier in the year, Justin launched another initiative to raise money for the charity that will see him donate $80 for every birdie he posts at all golf events worldwide during the entire 2011 season - an initiative that he is calling ‘Birdies for Blessings'.
And it's through Justin & Kate's passion for the programme that has led to Zurich Financial, another of Justin's main sponsors, extending their support to the initiative. Zurich are now committed to building upon the relationship Farmers Insurance (owned by Zurich) started with ‘Blessings in a Backpack' during the 2011 Farmers Insurance Open, where Farmers executives and PGA TOUR players led by the Roses helped stuff backpacks full of food for 500 children who attend the Doris Miller Elementary School in San Diego. And during the 2011 Zurich Classic in New Orleans, Zurich's CEO Martin Senn joined both Justin and Kate in a news conference to discuss and help raise awareness of the charity, following their generous offering to provide funding to feed 800 school children for the year in New Orleans. Zurich have also agreed to match Justin's Birdies for Blessings total at the end of the year which should raise a significant sum for the charity. To date Justin has posted 308 birdies, which already gives a total of $49,280.00 when matched by Zurich.
For the Roses, effective nourishment is something that they are both very passionate about, which is why they have chosen to support the ‘Blessings in a Backpack' programme. Not only are they keen to promote the importance of nutrition for children, but Justin is only too aware of the impact that effective nourishment can have on his own performance on the golf course. He commented: "I can't expect to play good golf if I'm not properly nourished so how can we expect kids to go a full weekend without enough to eat and then be able to focus on learning?"
Justin and Kate have now worked closely with the charity since 2009 where their fundraising efforts have helped feed over 1,000 school children in Orlando. They have both visited schools, attended sessions to fill back packs with food to then hand out to the children, and also held a golf day in 2010 that raised $180,000. The Roses have also personally provided two exciting trips away from school - once taking 80 children to the beach for the afternoon in Orlando, and on another occasion taking 15 children to the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf event at Bay Hill.
2010 Justin's Golf Day
TRADITION PROUDLY SPONSORED THE JUSTIN ROSE TRADITION CHARITY GOLF DAY, WHICH RAISED OVER £176,900 IN AID OF CANCER RESEARCH UK
Justin Rose, who recently won twice in the United States, the Memorial Tournament in June and this month's AT&T National, hosted the second Justin Rose Tradition Charity Golf Day on Tuesday 20 July. The event raised over £176,900 for Cancer Research UK, the world's leading charity dedicated to beating cancer through research.
The second Charity Day took place at the prestigious Stoke Park Club. Over 100 golfers gathered to take part in a celebrity Pro-Am, with captains such as Chris Evans, Matt Dawson, Tim Henman and Jodie Kidd, all
leading their teams into battle on the golf course. Following the golf, guests enjoyed the evening entertainment in a glamorous marquee on the lawns of Stoke Park, where auctioneer Jonny Gould brilliantly persuaded bidders to continually increase their bids for `money can't buy' prizes. Guests were
also treated to an acrobatic performance from this year's winners of Britain's Got Talent, Spellbound.
Tradition has been a proud supporter of Justin Rose for several years and has been honoured to work alongside him on some of his projects.
Bruce Collins, Deputy Chairman, Tradition, says,
"We would like to congratulate Justin on his tremendous performance in the past few weeks and we are extremely pleased to support his ongoing commitments to raise money for Cancer Research UK's lifesaving work. We will continue to closely follow his progress and his projects and wish him every success for his future tournaments".
About Tradition
Tradition is one of the world's largest interdealer brokers in over-the-counter financial and commodity related products. Represented in 27 countries, Tradition employs 2,530 people globally. Tradition is owned by Compagnie Financière Tradition (CFT) and listed on the Swiss stock exchange.
For more information visit http://www.tradition.com
2010 Blessings in a Backpack
A charity golf outing hosted by PGA golfer Justin Rose and his wife Kate held at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club on June 8 raised more than $160,000 in its inaugural year, benefitting a national feeding program called Blessings in a Backpack.
Each Friday, elementary school students who are part of the federal government's free and reduced meal plan will be sent home with a backpack full of easy-to-prepare food items to sustain them through the weekend.
"As an athlete and a father, I know how important it is to be properly nourished," said Justin Rose."It only costs $80 to feed a child for all 38 weekends of the school year, so this is our first little step to making an impact."
Golf icon Sir Nick Faldo auctioned off Rose and his friend, fellow PGA golfer and Lake Nona resident Henrik Stenson to the two foursomes willing to bid top dollar to play with the pro golfers in the charity tournament.
"Children who participate in Blessings in a Backpack show marked improvement in school attendance, test scores, behavior and health," said Lino Rodriguez, principal at Grand Avenue Primary Learning Center, among the first schools in the area to adopt the Blessings in a Backpack initiative. "When parents and children tell you how grateful they are for food, it's a very moving experience."
Blessings in a Backpack helps meet the nutritional needs of our country's children on the weekends, ultimately impacting their educational success. Launched in July 2005 with two public schools in its pilot program, Blessings in a Backpack now serves 20,000+ elementary school students throughout 19 states. Every Friday, students receive backpacks with staples that require little to no preparation and return to school on Mondays properly nourished and ready to learn. Children in the program show better test scores and reading skills, improved behavior and increased attendance. For more information, visit www.blessingsinabackpack.org.
