CHARITY
Charitable funds from professional golf at Firestone Country Club
Tournament Beneficiaries
With proceeds from the 2022 Kaulig Companies Championship and Ambassador of Golf event presented by FirstEnergy Foundation, $950,000 was donated to area charities. This total adds to the more than $30 million that has been given to worthy causes through professional golf tournaments at Firestone Country Club since 1984. Charity funds are made possible through a partnership with the PGA TOUR Champions, Firestone Country Club, Northern Ohio Golf Charities, and supporters including title sponsor Kaulig Companies, tournament volunteers, and fans of Northeast Ohio.
The tournament's eight key charities include:
Akron Children's Hospital
Akron Children’s Hospital has been caring for children since 1890, and our pediatric specialties are ranked among the nation’s best by U.S. News & World Report. With two hospital campuses, regional health centers and more than 50 primary and specialty care locations throughout Ohio, we’re making it easier for today’s busy families to find the high-quality care they need. In 2019, our health care system provided more than 1.2 million patient encounters. We also operate neonatal and pediatric units in the hospitals of our regional health care partners. Every year, our Children’s Home Care Group nurses provide thousands of in-home visits, and our School Health nurses manage more than a half million clinic visits for students. With the launch of our Quick Care Online virtual visits and Akron Children’s Anywhere app, we’re here for families whenever and wherever they need us.
Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank
The Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank is a nonprofit organization with a vision of a thriving community free of hunger. In Northeast Ohio, 1 in 7 people will face hunger, and the Foodbank will be there to help. The Foodbank is the source of emergency food for nearly 500 food pantries, hot meal sites, shelters and other hunger-relief programs that directly serve individuals and families in Carroll, Holmes, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas and Wayne counties. The Foodbank, with its supporters and partners are leading the fight to end hunger in the communities they serve. In 2017, it provided access to food for 26 million meals to its network of hunger-relief partners.
Cleveland Clinic Akron General
Cleveland Clinic Akron General is proud to serve the needs of Akron and surrounding communities. Named the best hospital in Summit County in 2018 from US News & World Report, Akron General has a Level 1 trauma center as well as a new state-of the-art emergency department. The Challenge Golf Program which is a part of our Cleveland Clinic Akron General Rehabilitation Institute has been a recipient of philanthropic support from Northern Ohio Golf Charities. Built in 1991 and opened in 1992, Challenge Golf was the first golfing facility in the nation designed specifically for individuals with disabilities, with a wheelchair and handicap-friendly course, driving range and putting green. All areas are open to the public and both disabled and able-bodied golfers of all ages. PGA Professional Ron Tristano leads sessions for individuals recovering from a variety of injuries and illnesses, or who are living with a chronic, mobility-limiting disease. Seeing approximately 1,800 golfers a year the Challenge Golf programming centers on the core idea that golf has significant physical, emotional, and social value for patients.
LeBron James Family Foundation
For the LeBron James Family Foundation, our mission to create real, generational change through education is made possible by our passion, our commitment to our families, and our partners. With the support of the Bridgestone SENIOR PLAYERS Championship, we’ve been able to activate impactful programs and help build stronger families by infusing our “We Are Family” philosophy into everything we do. From the I PROMISE School to the I PROMISE Village, and upcoming I PROMISE Housing and House Three Thirty, we will continue to respond to what our families need and work to redefine what community and family look like for generations to come.
Summa Health
Summa Health is one of the largest integrated healthcare delivery systems in Ohio. Encompassing a network of hospitals, community medical centers, a health plan, an accountable care organization, a multi-specialty physician organization, research and the Summa Health Foundation, we are nationally renowned for excellence in patient care and for exceptional approaches to healthcare delivery. Summa’s clinical services are consistently recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (Magnet status), U.S. News and World Report, Healthgrades, Thomson Reuters and The Leapfrog Group.
The First Tee of Greater Akron
Established in 1998, The First Tee of Greater Akron is a chapter of The First Tee, an international youth development organization that shapes the lives of young people ages 4 through 18 in Greater Akron. Our mission is to impact the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build character, instill life-enhancing values and promote healthy choices through the game of golf. First Tee curriculum focuses on character education and teaching the Nine Cores Values - Honesty, Integrity, Sportsmanship, Respect, Confidence, Responsibility, Perseverance, Courtesy & Judgment. Through a life skills curriculum that includes exercises and activities focused around the game of golf, kids learn lessons that will enhance their lives. We use golf as the vehicle to teach the values of everyday life. In 2018, The First Tee of Greater Akron directly impacted 19,831 youth in our community.
UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s
UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s is a proud philanthropic partner of the Bridgestone SENIOR PLAYERS. UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s offers the most expansive pediatric care network in Northeast Ohio, with more than 130 service locations. The vast network includes nationally ranked UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital – Cleveland’s only full-service, freestanding children’s hospital with a medical staff of more than 745 physicians – along with a primary care network with more than 200 pediatric and family medicine providers, 9 pediatric emergency departments, five surgery centers, 20 medical and surgical specialty clinics, and several advanced newborn and maternal/fetal medicine service locations. Among the nation’s leading academic medical centers, UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital is part of University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and an affiliate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, a nationally recognized leader in medical research and education.
United Way of Summit & Medina Counties
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, United Way programs helped local residents as they faced lost jobs or reduced hours, uncertain childcare, food insecurity and more. Thanks to the support of organizations like the Bridgestone SENIOR PLAYERS Championship, United Way has continued to help Summit and Medina county residents of every age and from every walk of life, 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout the pandemic. As the community moves forward toward recovery, United Way’s efforts will be key to putting children back on track to success in school, helping families find their way to financial stability, and ensuring the basic needs of every resident are met.
