Walmart Gives Grant to Gator Junior Golf
Gainesville, FL – Walmart seeks to create value in the communities around the world where they operate; strengthening them through local grants and supporting programs that help them thrive. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gator Junior Golf Association is reaching more lives than ever.
“One of the ways we invest in our communities is by supporting programs that strengthen and develop our youth,” said Annamarie Urban, Gainesville Walmart store manager. “The Gator Junior Golf Association is clearly developing the kids in our community by providing opportunities both on and off the golf course. Walmart is excited to see the growth that Gator Junior Golf is bringing to youth in Gainesville, and we’re pleased to give our support.”
“The Gator Junior Golf Association has expanded to serving children in both Alachua County and Marion County, and we’re reaching more kids than ever; over 200 kids enrolled just in spring 2021,” Sean Warner, Gator Junior Golf Association Executive Director, said. “The pandemic has raised our program’s needs to fund our scholarship program due to overwhelming demand from job losses and other financial challenges that our families experienced. The $2,500 grant from the Walmart Foundation helps us continue to reach more children and provide our children with a sense of belonging during a time of isolation in the pandemic. For the past five years, we’ve been providing a home away from home for kids of all backgrounds with our weekly golf classes. The kids learn our core values such as sportsmanship and integrity, and they’re evaluated during the season on how well they demonstrate these core values. At the end of the day, we’re all about offering a fun learning environment for our kids to develop in golf and in life to set them up for future success.”
Each year, U.S. Walmart stores award local cash grants ranging from $250 to $5,000. These local grants are targeted to address the specific needs in the communities where Walmart operates. In 2020, Walmart stores provided more than $35 million to combatting COVID-19 and supporting workers on the front lines. Now, in 2021, they are helping the Gator Junior Golf Association to impact more young lives through the game of golf.
This generous contribution from the Walmart Foundation will help us continue to reach more children in north-central Florida, regardless of a family’s ability to pay. The grant will also enable us to purchase additional golf clubs for the kids to use at class, so that newcomers to the sport aren’t burdened with buying expensive equipment to get their child started in golf. Gator Junior Golf scholarship fund donations can be made on our website at www.gatorjuniorgolf.org. All donations are tax deductible.
About Walmart
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better - anytime and anywhere - in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, nearly 275 million customers and members visit our more than 11,300 stores under 58 banners in 27 countries and eCommerce websites. With fiscal year 2021 revenue of $559.2 billion, Walmart employs over 2.2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting ttp://corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart.