Golf Channel’s East Lake Cup collegiate match play championship announced a charitable donation of $475,000 to the East Lake Foundation on behalf of the event’s presenting sponsor, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, as well as associate sponsors BMW, CSX and Rolex.
“We are very appreciative of the generous financial support we have received from the Golf Channel and the sponsors of the inaugural East Lake Cup at East Lake Golf Club,” said Daniel Shoy, Jr., President of the East Lake Foundation. “This important funding helps sustain the progress made in the East Lake community over the past 20 years and ensures the Foundation can continue to effectively provide residents with the tools necessary to build a better life for themselves and future generations.”
“The East Lake Foundation’s work in revitalizing the East Lake community serves as the gold standard for public-private partnership and community redevelopment in America,” said Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBC Sports Group. “Not only does the East Lake Cup help shine a light on the success of East Lake but also introduces the importance of giving back to the collegiate golfers who qualify to play in the event and encourages them to share in the spirit of philanthropy as they grow into future leaders.”
Contested at the historic East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga., last November, the inaugural East Lake Cup collegiate match play championship featured each of the four semifinal university representatives from the 2015 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships. The University of Southern California (USC) women’s and University of Illinois men’s golf teams claimed the inaugural East Lake Cup, which aired live on Golf Channel. The 2016 East Lake Cup presented by Hewlett Packard Enterprise is scheduled for late October, 2016, featuring top performing teams from the 2016 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships, taking place May 20-June 3.
The inaugural East Lake Cup also featured the presentation of the Tom Cousins Award, a new annual recognition of an outstanding male and female golfer who exemplifies the values of the East Lake Cup Foundation: excelling in academics, engaging in his or her community and overcoming adversity. Baylor’s Laura Lonardi and Illinois’ Alex Burge were the first recipients of the Tom Cousins Award.
Founded in 1995 by developer and philanthropist Tom Cousins, the East Lake Foundation collaborates with public and private organizations to provide tools that enable Atlanta’s East Lake residents to build a better future through its holistic model for community revitalization. The East Lake model includes cradle-to-college education at Charles R. Drew Charter School and its early learning partners, mixed-income housing at The Villages of East Lake and community wellness through programs including The First Tee® of East Lake, the Resident and Community Support Program, Start ME: East Lake micro-entrepreneur program and East Lake Healthy Connections. This approach to building a strong community not only helps break the intergenerational cycle of poverty, but creates a place where people of all ages and incomes choose to live. East Lake has become a national model for holistic community redevelopment across the country through Purpose Built Communities.
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