NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. — The Barbasol Championship gave a big "Thank You" to the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation after it dontated 100,000 meals to God's Pantry Food Bank. The Foundation made the donation in the name of 2019 Barbasol champion, Jim Herman.
“While this overwhelming gesture of goodwill, and a pleasant surprise, I don’t think anyone in the golf world was shocked by it,” said Barbasol Championship Tournament Director Bryan Pettigrew. “Arnold Palmer was one of the greatest to ever play our game and his philanthropic efforts and passion to make a difference in the lives of others is legendary. The #LikeArnie campaign aligns perfectly with our Caddie127 mission of caring for children in Kentucky.”
Last month, the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation announced a campaign of charitable efforts to support people impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Called “#LikeArnie,” the campaign operates from the premise that “hungry kids can’t learn” and aims to support youth and educators across the country, including those in several PGA TOUR event communities.
“As part of our ongoing commitment to children's health and in response to the COVID crisis, we feel fortunate to be able to support important medical and nutrition needs and to help address the educational challenges articulated by caring teachers on behalf of their students,” said Amy Palmer Saunders, Chair of the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation.
One component of the #LikeArnie Campaign is Solidarity with “Sister Events” on the PGA TOUR and Honoring Champions
Feeding America® member food banks in the U.S. as well as Food Banks Canada and FareShare in the U.K., Amy Palmer Saunders comments: “We held the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard early in the season, before COVID’s impact was completely understood and before important social distancing protocols were put into place in the United States. Many of our ‘sister’ tournaments on the PGA TOUR were not so fortunate, and their cancellations greatly impacted their communities. Like our Invitational, these events make a real difference in their communities and we wanted to do what we could. By supporting pantries in communities affected by tournament cancellations, we honor our ‘sister events’ and do our part as a member of the TOUR family.”
The benefiting Feeding America® member food banks pantries include:
1. Feeding America Northeast Florida (THE PLAYERS Championship)
2. Feeding Tampa Bay (Valspar Championship)
3. Central Texas Food Bank (Dell Technologies Match Play)
4. San Antonio Food Bank (Valero Texas Open)
5. Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana (Zurich Classic of New Orleans)
6. Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina (Wells Fargo Championship)
7. North Texas Food Bank (AT&T Byron Nelson)
8. God's Pantry Food Bank, Inc. (Barbasol Championship)
