Kids Golf Foundation of Illinois ABOUT THE FOUNDATION FOUNDATION INFORMATION The Kids Golf Foundation of Illinois is dedicated to bringing the sport of golf into the lives of children and providing them with opportunities for personal growth and career enhancement. Kids Golf Foundation The Kids Golf Foundation is a statewide junior golf association that offers and supports several golf programs and events designed to introduce children between the ages of 5 and 17 to the sport of golf, its fundamentals, rules, history, etiquette, life lessons, and more. The Foundation is one of the largest junior golf organizations in the state. Purpose The Foundation serves as the customer service center for individuals and organizations within the state of Illinois wishing to adopt programs and participate in events. We service these sites in a variety of ways including individual meetings, site visits, program consultation, equipment usage, and funding. In addition to teaching kids the fundamentals of golf, our programs and events teach participants life skills and leadership through the sport of golf. Grants & Funding The Foundation offers a Program Grant for organizations who wish to adopt our programs, which is designed to support material and equipment fees that are associated with the various program elements or levels. Grant applications and supporting documentation are reviewed by a committee throughout the year. A minimum of four weeks is needed for the committee to receive, review, and make a final decision on an application. Impact The success of the Foundation is evident in the number of diverse organizations that have participated in our programs and events. Since 1998, over 200 organizations have been involved statewide; some of these include: Parks and recreation departments YMCAs Boys & Girls Clubs Boy and Girl Scouts Schools Ministry groups Other youth organizations History The Foundation was established in 1998 by entrepreneurs and golf enthusiasts, Jerry Rich and Don Springer. The Foundation maintains its administrative headquarters at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois. Life Lessons The Foundation believes strongly in the non-golf benefits participants gain through our programs and events. It is our goal that each youngster walks away with not only the fundamentals of the sport, but other values that will last a lifetime both on and off the course. The Kids Golf Foundation provides sites with various types of resources at no charge, including posters and teaching aids that can be used to enhance the learning experience. The resources provide an understanding of many different aspects of the game of golf and also include educational life skills. 1 PROGRAM SITE INFORMATION Any organization can adopt a Kids Golf Foundation program! Each organization is responsible for identifying one staff person who will be deemed the “Site Coordinator.” Who Are Site Coordinators? The backgrounds of Site Coordinators vary and many are considered “non-golfers.” Site Coordinators demonstrate leadership ability, a love of children, genuine interest in their community, and an understanding of the value junior golf programs and events can provide. Site Coordinators can be: Recreation Professionals Youth Administrators Physical Education Teachers Golf Professionals Golf Enthusiasts Parents and Guardians Site Coordinator Responsibilities Site Coordinators play a key role in making junior golf programs work locally and are the main contact for the program site. Responsibilities include: Organizing, planning, and implementing the program Staying in contact with the Foundation and program staff Securing a golf course or facility Applying for grants Identifying and recruiting participants Recruiting volunteers Teaching life lessons Nominating children for special events and activities Program Consultation The Kids Golf Foundation staff will guide Site Coordinators through a step-by-step program planning and implementation process. Along with program manuals, staff is available to answer questions via phone, email, and during one-on-one meetings. Program consultation provided by staff is customized to fit each organization. Training Sessions The Kids Golf Foundation conducts mandatory Training Sessions at no charge for Site Coordinators who are interested in running programs. Benefits of attending a Training Session are: Become familiar with the equipment Discover opportunities for your organization Meet the Foundation staff Learn how to complete paperwork Login Section A special Site Coordinator Login Section is available on the Foundation’s website for confirmed sites. This section provides the paperwork, resources, and reminders necessary for Site Coordinators to plan and implement the program locally or to get involved in events. The Foundation encourages Site Coordinators to visit their Login Section often! About Topics “About Topics” were created to explain and simplify the process of starting and running a successful program and are included in the Site Coordinator Handbook. All topics are located on our website for easy access or replacement needs. Once located online, the topics can be downloaded and saved as a PDF to your computer for future reference - no printing is required! Updated or new topics will be included in the monthly Site Coordinator email blasts. 2 “About Topics” for Resources are the only downloads that cannot be found online. Once an order is placed for posters, Golf Training Boards, or Club Stickers, Foundation staff will email the Site Coordinator with the “About Topic” for the specific posters. The “About Life Skill and Junior Golf Illustrations” topic is included within the Site Coordinator Handbook because all program sites are encouraged and required to utilize one of those sets during programs. Awards Through participation in the Foundation, Site Coordinators, the organization they represent, or volunteers involved locally may be eligible for awards and recognition. Benefits As different tournaments and events are hosted at Rich Harvest Farms, program sites and Site Coordinators are invited to be involved in many ways, such as: Discounted ticket programs Junior golf clinics Interactive youth areas And more! Communication All Site Coordinators and Co-Site Coordinators receive a monthly email blast with news, updates, and upcoming deadlines. Typically, this email is sent on the second Tuesday of every month. The main email address for program sites is [email protected]. However, the Foundation has two other email accounts that are used for events and general information. Please be sure to add all three of the email addresses below to your safe sender list and check our spam or junk folder to ensure important program information is not being missed! [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] SITE VISIT INFORMATION Foundation staff makes every attempt to visit program sites throughout the year. This customer service feature allows us to observe and interact with Site Coordinators and program participants, as well as ensure that sites have all of the materials needed to run a successful program. Once a program has been scheduled, staff will coordinate a date and time to come out and visit the site and take pictures. If you need additional supplies or resources, please let us know! What can I expect during a Site Visit for my SNAG Program? Our goal will be to observe, support instruction, and capture photos. If our site visit occurs on the last day of your program, staff will help gather and pack equipment in order to bring it back to the Foundation. What can I expect during a Site Visit for my Level 2: Traditional program? Foundation staff will bring SNAG Equipment to conduct an introduction to swing fundamentals and break into activity stations – the presentation and activity takes about 45 minutes. The staff will prepare a game in advance based on the program site needs. Please make staff at the facility aware of our activity and space needed. Once the SNAG portion has concluded, the site can continue with the regularly scheduled program. Foundation staff will then observe, support instruction, and capture photos. How are photographs used by the Foundation? Photographs are primarily used for internal review with our Board of Directors and Training Session materials; if a participant cannot be photographed, please let us know in advance. The Foundation does not sell images. 3 RICH HARVEST FARMS INFORMATION What started out as a dream for Jerry and Betty Rich has turned into one of Golf Digest’s America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses, and the Kids Golf Foundation is fortunate and proud to call Rich Harvest Farms its home. This incredible facility offers a site for its Foundation building and use of the indoor and outdoor amenities during our events and training sessions. Since Rich Harvest Farms is a private facility, program sites do not have access to the golf course outside of Foundation events. Of all Jerry’s accomplishments, he hopes the Foundation will become his legacy. Furthermore, the Northern Illinois University Men’s and Women’s golf teams are proud to call Rich Harvest Farms their home course. To learn more about Rich Harvest Farms, visit www.richharvestfarms.com. Junior, Amateur, and Professional Events Growing amateur golf is at the heart of Rich Harvest Farms, as this prestigious facility is the site for many tournaments including the following: 2019 Centennial Western Junior (Western Golf Association)