Calgary’s Shaw Charity Classic Champions Tour event raised nearly $4-million that will be donated to ninety-nine youth-based charities in Alberta, event organizers announced today.
“The Shaw Charity Classic was a spectacular success, and we are again honoured to work with so many charities committed to making our communities better for our kids and youth,” said Brad Shaw, chief executive of Shaw Communications.
The tournament, which was played in August for the first time in its three-year history, saw Jeff Maggert win the event in a star-studded field that included names like Colin Montgomerie, past winner Fred Couples, and Spanish star Miguel Ángel Jiménez. Champions Tour golfers are over 50, and most were notable standouts on the PGA Tour or European Tour.
READ MORE: Jeff Maggert makes no missteps in winning Shaw Charity Classic
The tournament raised a total of $3,942,712 to donate to area charities. Charitable contributions jumped this year with the addition of Birdies for Kids, a program backed by AltaLink that expanded the Shaw Charity Classic’s reach across the province. Birdies for Kids gives individuals and corporations the opportunity to make a one-time or per-birdie donation, directed to the children’s charity of their choice.
“The impact the Birdies for Kids program is having in our community has significantly surpassed our expectations,” said Scott Thon, chief executive officer of AltaLink. “It is so important in these economic times to support the non-profit sector that so many Albertans access across our province.
Exceeding our goal for dollars raised this year speaks volumes about the spirit of Albertans to pull together and support those in need when times are tough.”
While contributing to charity, the Shaw Charity Classic continues to win accolades from players and spectators alike, being voted by the players as their favourite tournament. But Clay Riddell, the tournament’s chairman and one of its founders, says the community of Calgary should be applauded for the Shaw Charity Classic’s success.
“I firmly believe it takes an entire community to build a successful international event,” said Riddell. “So this accomplishment should be celebrated by everyone from the more than 1,200 volunteers, to our generous corporate community, friends in the media, and all of the great citizens of this amazing city that came down to Canyon Meadows this summer.”
In June Shaw Communications, which has held the title sponsorship since the tournament’s inception, announced a two-year extension and that $1-million of the total funds raised would go to supporting six of the tournament’s core youth-based charitable partners located across southern Alberta, including the Children’s Wish Foundation; Classroom Champions; Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta; KidSport Calgary; Ronald McDonald House Charities; and the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre.
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