LA QUINTA, Calif. – Desert Classic Charities, the local nonprofit entity that organizes the CareerBuilder Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation, will host their annual Charity Check distribution event today at the Boys and Girls Club of La Quinta where they will donate $925,000 to Coachella Valley nonprofit organizations based on the success of the CareerBuilder Challenge PGA TOUR golf tournament held in January.
Included in the total contributions for 2015 is a donation of $295,000 presented to Eisenhower Medical Center, the event’s primary charitable beneficiary since its inception in 1960.
“We are very proud of our role in helping establish Eisenhower Medical Center as one of the nation’s premier medical facilities, but something else we take a great deal of pride in is our role in benefiting so many wonderful organizations throughout the Coachella Valley,” said John Foster, Chairman of the Board of Desert Classic Charities, the philanthropic arm of the CareerBuilder Challenge.
“These organizations and the efforts of the tireless and selfless people who work for them make such a difference in the lives of so many people throughout the Valley.”
During the past 56 years, the event has generated more than $56 million in donations to Eisenhower Medical Center and charities within the Coachella Valley.
The tournament, now in its 57th year, returns to La Quinta Jan. 18-24. This 72-hole event features 156 professionals taking on the TPC Stadium Course (host course) and the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Courses at PGA WEST and La Quinta Country Club. Once again, the City of La Quinta is the host city for the tournament.
Representatives from the Desert Classic Charities with the assistance of several prominent community figures will announce the recipients of this year’s tournament-related donations.
As is customary, the Desert Classic Charities donations are presented to nonprofit organizations in three categories:
- Structured Programs for Children
- Rehab, Social and Support Services
- Food and Shelter for the Hungry, Homeless and Abused
In addition to Eisenhower Medical Center, 39 local nonprofit organizations will receive gifts from Desert Classic Charities.
In the Structured Programs for Children category, the recipients include: Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Desert; Boys & Girls Club of Cathedral City; Boys & Girls Club of Coachella; Boys & Girls Club of Indio; Boys & Girls Club of La Quinta; Boys & Girls Club of Desert Hot Springs; Boys & Girls Club of Mecca; Boys & Girls Club of Palm Springs; Coachella Valley Boxing Club; The John F. Kennedy Memorial Foundation for The Ophelia Project; Pathfinder Ranch and Tools for Tomorrow.
Beneficiaries in the Rehab, Social and Support Services category are ABC Club; the Alano Club of the Desert; Angel View Children’s Foundation; Coachella Valley Autism Society; Desert Arc; Desert Cancer Foundation; Guide Dogs of the Desert; Pegasus Riding Academy; Neuro Vitality (formerly Stroke Recovery Center); Visiting Nurses Association for Mourning Star; Ranch Recovery Center and United Cerebral Palsy.
Three new organizations added this year are Volunteers in Medicine, a medical clinic in Indio and Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital Foundation, and the American Diabetes Association.
The 13 organizations in the Food and Shelter for the Hungry, Homeless and Abused group include Coachella Valley Rescue Mission; Father’s Heart Ranch; F.I.N.D; Fish of the Lower Coachella Valley; Food Now; Galilee Center; Joslyn Center for Meals on Wheels; Martha’s Village and Kitchen; Mizell Senior Center; Olive Crest; Operation Safe House; Shelter from the Storm and The Well In The Desert.
The 39 charitable beneficiaries and the attending golf fans who helped make those donations happen were treated to scintillating golf in 2015.
Bill Haas is the defending champion of the CareerBuilder Challenge, having birdied the 71st hole to break a six-man logjam and pull out a one-shot victory.
It was Haas’ sixth career PGA TOUR victory and his second in the event. He vanquished a field that included fellow 2015 Presidents Cup competitors Zach Johnson, Patrick Reed (the 2014 event champion), Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson, Chris Kirk, Danny Lee and Steven Bowditch.
