Category: Blog

Last year, The First Tee of San Joaquin County was awarded a grant from the Community Foundation of San Joaquin. Over the course of 2019, the grant funds were put to good use at The Children’s Home of Stockton, TLC School for Homeless Children, and the Housing Authority County of San Joaquin (HACSJ). This grant gave the young people of the underserved neighborhoods of Sierra Vista and Conway Homes the opportunity to participate in the game of golf.

“Our partnership with The First Tee has been a great success. Many of the children we bring to the program have never been to a golf course let alone been exposed to the game of golf and the many lessons the sport itself has to offer. Through The First Tee kids make new friends, learn about golf and valuable life skills in a fun-friendly, kid-safe environment. One lesson taught by The First Tee that stands out is respect, the children were taught when greeting someone one should take off their hat, look the person in the eye and shake their hand. It brings a smile to everyone’s face to see this lesson put into action.” Peter Ragsdale, Executive Director – HACSJ

By: Chris Borrego, Program Director

Three of our players made it into the Pure Insurance Championship in 2018 – Skyler May and William Bensch, sophomores at St. Mary’s High, and Christopher Khan, a junior at Lincoln High. They played in late September at Poppy Hills and Pebble Beach. All three players are Eagle Level Participants in our program. The week was great – it was a little cold in the morning, but the sun would eventually come out, making for spectacular views.

Skyler played with tour winner, Chris DiMarco. He was a wonderful guy and in fact, Skyler did most of the heavy lifting for the team at Poppy Hills. Skyler showed that heart and determination is her trademark on the golf course. William played with US Open Champion, Scott Simpson. William had a very good day at Poppy Hills, shooting 75 on his own ball. Chris Khan played with Masters and PGA Champion, Vijay Singh. They were a great pairing, as neither is known for talking a lot on the course. Many times, they would walk down the fairway with each other in silence.

The Chapter sent a bus load of 40 kids and coaches down to the event on Saturday, September 29, where they met another 20-30 kids and parents who drove down for the day. They had lunch on the 18th Tee at Pebble Beach and the kids spent an hour going through the Chevron STEM Zone set up with many science, technology, engineering and math games and exhibits.

We then took their orange shirts and headed out to find Christopher Khan and Vijay Singh. Christopher had a spectacular shot from the bunker on #2 and spun it back to about 5 feet. Their view from the fairway was of 40-50 kids and coaches in orange First Tee of San Joaquin Chapter shirts. The group followed Christopher through hole 5 and then cut over to see Skyler as she was on hole 15. We were able to let out a huge cheer as Skyler made a 10-foot birdie putt on the 16th. A man leaned over from the tower behind the green and said that was the largest cheer of the day. Unfortunately, William was playing at Poppy Hills early that day so the kids on the bus did not get to see him. However, I went out in the morning and followed him for 9 holes and he was playing very well.

It was a wonderful week for the kids, as they were treated like tour players with dinners and activities almost every night. Many of the Senior Tour Pros were involved in the events with the kids. We look forward to a return with 1-3 players in 2019.

Community Foundation of San Joaquin awarded 16 nonprofits in San Joaquin County, including The First Tee of San Joaquin, a total of $304,000 from its competitive grants programs – the Community Health Fund and the Brian M. Stocker Fund – to support programs that promote health and wellness in the community. This is the second year that grants have been awarded from the Community Health Fund and the first year grants been awarded from the Brian M. Stocker Fund.

“We are proud to support this year’s grant recipients who share the same commitment we do to improving the health and well-being of our region. From cultivating healthcare workers who will stay in the area, establishing and strengthening educational programs that will teach youth healthy eating habits, to programs that support youth recreation, we are excited to see how the 16 organizations will help our community prosper,” says Moses Zapien, CEO and President of Community Foundation of San Joaquin.

Don Miller, Executive Director of The First Tee of San Joaquin stated, “This $20,000 grant will help create more opportunities in low and moderate income families to participate in our program. This grant will strengthen our reach in the underserved neighborhoods of Sierra Vista, Conway Homes, and The Children’s Home of Stockton, to give these young people the opportunity to participate in the game of golf.”