The St. Johns County Education Foundation has received top-level sponsorship from local real estate firm Davidson Realty for the INK! Charity Pro-am presented by Davidson Realty, Inc. The foundation operates INK! (Investing in Kids), a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
The fundraiser event is part of the unique PXG Women’s Professional Match Play Championship being hosted at World Golf Village in October as part of the Women’s All Pro-Tour, a developmental level tour for aspiring LPGA professionals.
According to INK! Executive Director Donna Lueders, the organization is pleased to accept the $15,000 donation from Sherry Davidson, co-founder and president of Davidson Realty and its sister companies. Davidson also serves as a longtime member on INK!’s board of directors.
The championship kicks off a 10-day celebration of women and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at the center of which is a two-tournament series of professional women’s golf. Generation W, a Jacksonville-based women’s empowerment organization, will run the off-course programming, including seminars, networking events and entertainment.
Pro-am event-related activities start at 6 p.m. Oct. 24 with the official Player Pairings Party. On Oct. 25, 32 teams will tee it up in a professional women’s pro-am for the first time in St Johns County and the first time in Jacksonville since 1946.
The championship will feature 64 women pursuing their dreams of playing on the LPGA Tour, competing over two weeks in two separate but connected tournaments from Oct. 26 through Nov. 6. The first week will feature a 54-hole stroke-play tournament on the King & Bear course, which will also seed the second week’s event, a 64-woman match-play championship at Slammer & Squire. There will be no cut in the stroke-play event and all players will advance to the match-play tournament. Each tournament will have its own prize purse, including a guarantee of $50,000 shared between the two events.
Pro-am teams are currently available for $2,500, which includes golf on the King & Bear golf course, lunch, a tee gift package and both the official Pairings Party and the official awards reception. Additional sponsorship and fundraising opportunities are available, including a silent auction featuring golf and non-golf related items.
“INK! fits right in as the official charity partner of the PXG Women’s Match Play Championship, since the overall tournament week is about creating opportunities,” said Lueders. “As part of that theme, the INK! Charity Pro-am presented by Davidson Realty together with all of our sponsors and players are making a financial investment in our public schools. This is a major golf fundraiser for the organization, and we’re thrilled about the opportunity.”
Since its inception in 1994, INK! has granted more than $7.5 million to help fund underserved public schools in St. Johns County with more than 81 percent of the funds raised going into the classroom for teachers and students.
“As a smaller nonprofit in our market, we’re eager to take advantage of the spotlight this event affords us,” said Lueders. “This event will raise the organization’s level of awareness immensely, which will ultimately lead to even more opportunities for those we serve.”
INK! will be recognized throughout the tournament with several other fundraising initiatives, including a hole-in-one contest at the World Golf Hall of Fame, a donation opportunity on the championships’ ticketing website and with donation stations throughout the tournament grounds.
“Our goal is to shine a light on the importance of quality education in St. Johns County and the up-and-coming professional players of women’s golf while creating opportunities for players in the tournament, in the boardroom and in the community,” said Sherry Davidson. “With INK! as our beneficiary, we support students and teachers in need as the recipients of the opportunities.”
For further information about the championship, as well as volunteering, admission and participants, go to PXGWMPC.com. For sponsorship information, contact Mark Berman at 904-838-4962 or email mberman@mediashareconsulting.com.
