Golf Gods’ Post

❌ Myth: Golf tournaments are outdated and boring. ✅ Fact: Golf is more popular than ever! Check out other common myths about charity golf tournaments and why they're not true ➡️ https://bit.ly/4cb1lgh

Earlier this month I was, once again, part of the team of volunteers that helped to deliver the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) National Championships for our wonderful participants. I have been doing this now for over 30 years and wouldn’t miss it, I know there are many others who feel the same way. I refer to our National Championships as ‘two events in one’ – our Horse of the Year Show and our Annual Family Gathering. At the Championships, participants and volunteers work together to achieve their aims, they also play together and have truly wonderful time. The event is an example of generosity and goodwill at their very best. The most generous gift that any individual can donate is time (it’s irretrievable). Goodwill is something that must be guarded jealously, once lost it’s very hard to retrieve. I have been involved with many charities over the years; Riding for the Disabled, The British Horse Society and Lions Club International (plus other local groups). We now inhabit a world where money is always at the forefront and, quite a few years ago, I was interested in exploring the ’value’ of time given by volunteers across the sector to the UK. I created a website called ‘Volunteers Count’ to evaluate this. The timing wasn’t right, however, I now think it is becoming more relevant and maybe should be revisited? There are 168,650 registered charities in the UK, my question is: “How many hours do volunteers within the charity sector donate to this country annually and what would be value of the time they so generously donate?” To give an illustration I have done a very conservative calculation on our RDA National Championships which produces a cost of £137,736.60 in volunteer hours over the duration of the event. This does not include the extra voluntary hours put in by our paid staff to make the Championships possible. Nor does it even begin to touch the hours spent working towards getting there – training, plus attending Regional Qualifiers. This is based on the current National Minimum Wage of £11.44, I would suggest that many of the roles undertaken by our volunteers at all levels are deserving of considerably more. That is just for one event for one Charity – what on earth would the grand total be if we included all charities in the UK. My final observation: ‘Volunteers are not a cheap unskilled workforce, but a priceless asset, made up of people with a multitude of skills at all levels, without which most charities would cease to exist’

#VIDEO: The ninth edition of TravelBrands' Charity Golf Classic kicked off today (Sept. 5) at Eagles Nest Golf Club, bringing together more than 140 travel pros. PAX was there this morning to catch up with Nathalie Tanious, president and CEO of #TravelBrands, to talk about fundraising efforts, as well as the trends and destinations that are shaping this winter. #travelindustry #travelindustrynews #fundraiser #travelbrands #paxnews #traveltrends

Still on group chats. Get on IMA TEAM. Chat, Schedule, Promote Events. Organize Your Community. #eventplanner #baseball #softball #soccer #volleyball #basketball #football #fraternity #sorority #greeklife #clubsports #activism #nonprofits #charities

🧩✨ #AutismAwareness Top 36 Golf Course Rankings: Post 30 - Course #7⛳️ 🧩 🚨 $11,053 of $15,000 (74%) goal raised 🚨 💰 DONATE - Please help us get there by donating $36 today: https://lnkd.in/e4MFcQfd To represent the 1 in 36 kids affected by Autism in the US, I will be counting down my Top 36 Golf Courses that I have ever played with a short story/memory for each. If you could please consider donating $36 (or more) to Els for Autism via the link above, I would appreciate it ❤️ Golf Course #7 - Trump Turnberry (Ailsa) For course #7 we stay across the pond in Scotland to play the famous Turnberry (Ailsa) course. Founded in 1899 by Archibald Kennedy, 3rd Marquess of Ailsa, the idea for the course came about when a main railroad & passenger train was built close by and the land was not fertile enough for agriculture, thus making a golf course & hotel an excellent money making opportunity. Archibald hired 1883 Open Champion, Willie Fernie, to come in and design the course, which at the time was only 13 holes, and the project was overall successful, luring many golfers from all over Britain who stayed and played Turnberry. Unfortunately, this success was short-lived, because when the World Wars happened, it was decided that the course should be used as an airbase and the hotel as a hospital, as the coastline was too valuable to pass up. The course was essentially ruined as a result. It was not until after the wars when British Transport Hotels convinced government that the course and hotel should be restored, and thankfully for us golfers, the project was approved and architect Mackenzie Ross made it the 18-hole championship masterpiece it now is today. Since then, it has now hosted the Open Championship 4 times, the last being 2009 when Tom Watson famously almost became the oldest major championship winner at age 61, bogeying the last hole and losing in a sudden death playoff to Stewart Cink. I got to play Turnberry in 2018, and talk about a course that is jaw dropping! When you make the turn out on the coast, playing holes alongside the cliffs with the famous lighthouse in view, it is a spiritual experience. Not to mention the course is a very fair test; it’s not short, it’s not long, it rewards good shots and penalizes bad ones. Oh, and the walk down 18 with the hotel in the background isn’t bad either! A true joy to play and I hope to do it again one day ⛳️

What started as a promising Saturday for our charity golf outing turned into an unexpected challenge when my sister (Elizabeth Nottling) and I got the call at 6:30am that the course was flooded from the rain the night before. But, in just a couple of hours, we were able to pivot and turn the day into a fantastic indoor trivia event with a full meal, raffle, and silent auction! The transition wasn't easy, but it was a powerful reminder of the importance of adaptability and resilience in the face of adversity. Instead of getting frustrated with the weather, we focused on making the most of the situation. By coming together and thinking creatively, we were able to ensure the success of the event and continue supporting our cause. The majority of registered golfers still attended the event and all had a great time with our impromptu trivia challenge. This experience serves as a valuable lesson for all aspects of life and work: when faced with unexpected obstacles, don't get mad or give up. Find a way to make it work, look forward, and take action. The ability to adapt and persevere can turn any challenge into an opportunity for success. A huge thank you to everyone who participated and supported us! Your enthusiasm and flexibility made this event a memorable one. Together, we showed that with a positive mindset and quick thinking, we can overcome any hurdle. 💪🌟 Details about the JCMHSF can be found in the comments. #charityevent #adaptability #resilience #teamwork #leadership #sisterpower

The Jane-A-Thon Annual Ski and Snowboarding #fundraiser began 25 years ago by a few #visionaryleaders of our board to ensure every #Colorado child has a strong start in life! Today, we accomplish this by adopting, implementing, and successfully scaling #provenprograms that have the greatest long-term impact on young children and families #experiencingpoverty. How do we make this happen? Our amazing team of experts ensures the #support, #resources, #qualitymeasurement, and #qualityimprovement mechanisms are in place for the following programs: Nurse Family Partnership The Incredible Years Child First Twenty-five years ago, in 1999, this event raised $10,000 to support advocacy efforts that would improve the #healthandwellbeing of Colorado’s youngest children and their families. Last year, we raised $445,000 to support our rapidly growing #mission. During this 25th year #anniversary, please consider supporting our #intervention and #prevention proven program offerings with Colorado children and families at the center! Details below! Can’t attend? Consider giving to our cause here: https://lnkd.in/gWpyEW-M #fundraisingforacause #philanthropymatters #communitycentered #communitycentricfundraising #evidencebased #prevention #skiforacause

Lashings does it again! #legends Speak to Dave Fitzgerald to discuss! Lashings World

Anybody Interested

More than one marathon runner is training carrying a 25Kg fridge. Most people will have read the story of Daniel Fairbrother and his training schedule which drew the attention of Hertfordshire Police this week! It's an extraordinary undertaking in support of a worthwhile cause i.e. Diabetes UK. All power to him. But I was not as surprised to read about this as you might have been. That's because I knew of Laura Bird from Alan Matthews. I've been following the remarkable progress of Laura "Birdy" Bird ever since. Birdy has been in training for a Guiness World Record attempt, too. She aims to run a marathon under 6 hours - with a 25Kg fridge named Ray on her back! She's a long history of taking on near impossible odds - including 30 marathons in 30 days - to raise money and awareness for good causes including East Anglia Air Ambulance, who effectively saved her life after a near fatal road collision. I can wholly recommend her book 10-10-10 which tells her very personal story much better than I can here. You can find this easily available to download from Amazon or you can buy in print. Sales support her activities. The photo shows Birdy at the end of a recent training run. She clocked a time of 13.10 miles (half-marathon) in 3:14:06 - which is simply an amazing achievement in itself. To learn a bit more about Birdy it's well worth your time checking her social media profile and website. Wouldn't it be great to see her get attention for achievements and more support from sponsors? I'll post links to follow in comments. #fridgeovertroubledwater #londonmarathon #halfmarathon #charity #raysofsunshine #bbcnews #itvnews #skynews