Written by Faith Bender
The SCGA Junior Golf Foundation received $17,775 in 2022 grant funding from the LPGA Foundation in support of its 5 LPGA*USGA Girls Golf chapters, two of which were newly established earlier this year.
In June, the Southeast Los Angeles chapter was one of only five in the country to receive $2,000 from the LPGA Foundation’s Renee Powell Grant. Created this year, the objective of the Renee Powell Grant is to fund chapters with a specific commitment to engaging Black communities and connecting with local youth organizations to further the mission of inclusivity. The Foundation’s Southwest Los Angeles chapter operates at Maggie Hathaway GC in partnership with a primarily Black local golf club, Tee Divas & Tee Dudes, and serves a chapter of young women who represent the ethnically diverse community surrounding this site.
Moreover, all five of the Foundation’s chapters each received $1,500 from the Sandy LaBauve Grant Program this fall, designed to offer financial assistance for chapters to improve the quality of their Girls Golf site and programs. The funds were allocated to each SCGA Junior chapter for a different purpose, ranging from hiring and training female coaches, offsetting operational costs such as course green fees, equipment and uniforms, to funding outreach materials and helping send young women to the LPGA Leadership Academy.
To top it all off, four out of five of the SCGA Junior chapters were eligible to receive general site operation funding, which is awarded based on reported roster size, with its Riverside chapter receiving $4,750 for 190 girls!
Jakeishya Le, Girls Golf Site Director for Riverside and the newest Orange County chapter, speaks for all SCGA Junior Girls Golf site directors in expressing her gratitude to the LPGA Foundation:
“It is amazing that our organization has been able to receive all these funds and be nationally recognized by the LPGA Foundation,” Le said. “We are extremely grateful for their partnership and financial support, enabling us to continue providing our monthly chapter events and make a long lasting impact on girls in our communities.”