GOLF AND GIVING IN LAKE COUNTY: As the Western Golf Association’s official community partner during the BMW Championship, The Lake County Community Foundation highlights efforts to help the county’s most vulnerable residents
Waukegan, IL—September 13, 2013 – On the third day of the BMW Championship, the Lake County Community Foundation, an affiliate of The Chicago Community Trust, connected the professional sports competition to Lake County’s residents through a youth golf clinic and honored the collective impact of the Foundation’s donors at a 16th-hole reception.
In the afternoon, the Foundation hosted academically exemplary middle school and early high school golfers from low-income Lake County communities for an exclusive golf clinic with PGA TOUR players David Hearn and Jason Kokrak, who are among the 70 world-class players competing in the playoffs for the FedExCup.
In the evening, Foundation board members and guests came together at the 16th hole to celebrate the strong history of philanthropy and partnership in Lake County. The crowd gathered to honor the collective impact of the donors who make it possible for the Foundation to support Lake County’s neediest residents.
“The history of philanthropy in Lake County goes back to the very history of this beautiful golf course on which we now stand,” said Katherine “Kitty” Lansing, a long- time Foundation board member, fourth-generation Lake County resident and a descendent of one of several families who both developed Conway Farms Golf Club, which opened in 1991, and helped establish the Lake County Community Foundation in 2003.
“All our families have been very involved civically in the county and feel strongly about being engaged and making an impact in their community,” said Lansing.
For executive director Sylvia Zaldivar-Sykes, having the Foundation be part of such a high-profile event offered the opportunity to highlight the realities of a county where great wealth and great need sit practically side by side.
“When you’re on the lush greens of Conway Farms it’s hard to believe that just within a few miles of the course, over a hundred thousand Lake County residents are classified by the U.S. Census as being poor or very poor. Every day they’re surviving through the unprecedented 76 percent growth in poverty in Chicago suburbs over the past thirteen years,” Zaldivar-Sykes said.
She noted that, on the cusp of its first decade, the Foundation has become a recognized leader in addressing the unique challenges of rapidly spreading suburban poverty. “As Lake County’s permanent charitable trust we are in the unique position of being able to help donors and community organizations create transformational change across the county,” said Zaldivar-Sykes.
“Thankfully our county is blessed with philanthropically minded residents who care deeply about these issues and help the Foundation address our community’s greatest challenges,” said Foundation board chair A. Stewart Kerr. “We’re here celebrating them — it’s the generosity of our donors that empowers the Foundation to create a lasting impact on Lake County.”
About The Lake County Community Foundation
Since 2003, The Lake County Community Foundation, an affiliate of The Chicago Community Trust, has partnered with donors to leverage and guide their philanthropy to help transform the lives of the most vulnerable people across our county. Together, we have contributed over $2.5 million to 80 nonprofit organizations that support basic human needs, community development, education and health throughout Lake County. By connecting the generosity of donors across Lake County with the most pressing needs of the community, we ensure that our county thrives today and for generations to come.
GROWING PHILANTHROPY, BUILDING COMMUNITY
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