PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (Aug 14, 2023) – Youth development organization First Tee is excited to announce that it has expanded its School Program to 50 additional Title I schools thanks to $100,000 in matching grants from The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation Sports Matter Program. First Tee golf equipment has already been shipped to 30 of the schools. The Title 1 schools selected serve a high percentage of kids from low-income families and 40% of students receive a free or reduced-price lunch.
First Tee’s School Program gives physical educators all the tools to begin implementing its curriculum, including training, equipment and lesson plans that integrate life skills with the game of golf. The curriculum is also designed to help children improve their motor skills through golf instruction. First Tee has been offering its programming in physical education classes in the United States and Canada since 2004, reaching more than 3 million kids last year.
“We created the School Program almost 20 years ago to make First Tee programming accessible to more kids,” said Jen Weiler, senior vice president of network relations at First Tee. “We are grateful to The DICK’S Foundation for helping us reach more students. Recent research shows that nearly 80 percent of parents believe golf can teach life skills and character. Now more kids have access to those lessons.”
Grants have been awarded to schools in California, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
DICK’S and The DICK’S Foundation are longtime partners of First Tee, providing more than $1.9 million to support First Tee’s character-building programs since 2008.
For more information on First Tee, visit www.firsttee.org.
