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Golf Day Drives Legacy for Young People $61,000 Raised!

news June 30, 2008, 11:50AM

 

On Friday 6 June, Queensland’s business world proved – quite literally - that they were par for the fundraising course. The GJI Charity Golf Day raised a record-breaking $61,000 for SU Qld, the fastest growing youth and children’s organisation in Australia.


SU Qld is the largest provider of school chaplains in Queensland. Over 250 new chaplains have been appointed in the past year alone, and demand for this powerful role continues to grow.

 

The GJI Charity Golf Day was held last Friday 6 June at the Hope Island Golf Course and was widely attended by over 150 business people from across Queensland including sponsors Solomon Food Groups, Merrin & Cranston and Invision Wealth amongst many others.

 

The GJI Charity Golf Day gave Brisbane corporates the opportunity to improve their golf swing, network and bring hope to a young generation.

 

Mark James, director of GJI, Queensland’s data, mail and print specialists, said he was very pleased with the result.

 

“It was great day; perfect weather and companies that are spot on with the cause,” said Mr James. “We raised over $20,000 more than what we expected because of people’s generosity – more than double what we raised last year.”

 

“It just shows how people are realising that – indirectly - chaplaincy affects us all. I mean, we can fix a hole in the ozone layer for the next generation, but chaplaincy is a way to help young people grow up into healthy adults,” Mr James said. “We see chaplaincy as legacy building.”

 

The boom in chaplaincy numbers throughout the state is partly the result of funding from the National School Chaplaincy Program, helping more than double the number of Queensland school chaplains from 200 to 450 since the start of 2007. Yet the vast bulk of funding comes from local community committees which draw together churches, service clubs, parents and businesses to own the effort in their neighbourhood schools. 

Tim Mander, former NRL Grand Final Referee and CEO of SU Qld said, “Thank you to GJI and the corporates who came along. Not only have we been given a substantial financial boost, we’ve also seen how much people from all walks of life are valuing chaplaincy.”

 

“Chaplaincy offers real support to young people in whatever circumstances they’re facing.”

We are committed to SU Qld and seeing the GJI Charity Golf Day grow.

 

“I don’t know how ambitious we can be about this, but we’d really like to see this as the biggest golf fundraising day in Australia.” Mr James said.

 

“It’s the most successful fundraiser that Hope Island Golf Course has ever had, and we want it to keep growing. We really believe in this cause.”

 

About SU Qld
SU Qld is Australia’s fastest growing youth and children’s not-for-profit organisation. It is an inter-denominational Christian organisation that has been operating in Queensland for more than 75 years. SU Qld is the largest provider of chaplains in Queensland state schools, with more than 450 chaplains statewide. SU Qld chaplains provide a safe and supportive influence, working closely with other care providers within the state school context to bring hope to a young generation. Collectively, SU Qld chaplains make more than 100,000 meaningful pastoral encounters each year.