Grant Helps Kids, And Soldiers In Afghanistan


July 19, 2004
E-mail address: mediarelations@usga.org

On behalf of the Estes Park Junior Golf Program, I would like to thank the USGA Grants committee for the $2,500 grant that you awarded our program. We have purchased and distributed more than $1,200 worth of equipment for our program so far. In the month of June, 125 different kids have been through our program. This is the first year that every child has been given a set of clubs. We are expecting more than 180 kids in our program this summer.

Indirectly, your grant has also helped some kids in Afghanistan. This small town in Afghanistan has dozens of children living there who have been helping our troops plant grass to clean up some of the poppy fields. The idea of a driving range being built to give the troops some recreation was given to our course to work on. Our men's golf association, our recreation district, and the Estes Park Junior Golf Program decided to help out. We sent several thousand range balls and dozens of golf clubs. Our junior golf program helped out by sending some of our older junior equipment since we had new, more modern equipment coming. Some of the troops have been teaching the kids to swing and they also pay them to take care of the range and collect the balls.

The Afghanistan project was fun, and we look forward to helping more of our local kids with this grant.

Thank you again!

Sincerely,

Mark Miller
Estes Park Junior Golf Director, Colorado