2013 Travelers Championship Generates $1,253,000 for Charities Including The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp

The Travelers Championship, Connecticut’s only PGA TOUR event, has announced that the 2013 tournament generated $1,253,000 for 180 charities throughout the region. This is the largest annual amount the tournament has given since Travelers became title sponsor in 2007, helped in part by 2013 winner Ken Duke who made a personal donation of $25,000 during closing ceremonies in June.

Duke attended today’s charity announcement at The Bushnell in Hartford, Conn., where Travelers recognized his generosity by donating an additional $10,000 to the charity of his choice.

“We are thrilled to be giving more than $1 million to charity for the fifth consecutive year, which wouldn’t have been possible without the sponsors, volunteers and fans who support our event,” said Travelers Championship Tournament Director Nathan Grube. “This record donation is a testament to the support the community gives in making our tournament one of the top sporting events in the Northeast. As we look ahead to 2014, we encourage everyone to continue to show their support.”

As part of the PGA TOUR’s tradition of giving back, the Travelers Championship donates 100 percent of net proceeds to charity and offers a variety of fundraising programs that allow for community involvement. Since 2007, the tournament has generated more than $7 million for charity, bringing the total giving since 1952 to more than $31 million.

“At Travelers, we’re proud to be a part of a world-class PGA TOUR event that gives us the opportunity to support our hometown community by raising significant funds for charities in the region,” said Andy Bessette, executive vice president and chief administrative officer for Travelers. 

“One of the tournament’s main goals each year is to increase the dollars generated for charity. We thank the fans and businesses that have committed to sponsoring the Travelers Championship, which have helped us to once again achieve that goal.”

Hundreds of organizations have benefited from the charitable giving of the Travelers Championship, most notably The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. Founded in 1988 by Paul Newman, the Camp is dedicated to providing “a different kind of healing” to children and their families coping with cancer, sickle cell anemia and other serious illnesses. Through summer sessions and family weekends at the Camp in Ashford, Conn., and year-round outreach to hospitals and clinics across the Northeast, the Camp serves more than 20,000 children and family members annually. All services are provided free of charge.

“The support provided by the Travelers Championship allows us to help more seriously ill children experience the transformational spirit and friendships that go hand-in-hand with camp,” said James Canton, The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp’s chief executive officer.  “Just as our campers benefit from their beautiful connection with the friends they meet at Hole in the Wall, the Camp has been incredibly enriched by its friendship with the Travelers Championship and its title sponsor, Travelers, whose steadfast faith in our mission allows us to continue to dream the biggest dreams possible.”

The 2013 Travelers Championship benefited 180 charities through hundreds of thousands of dollars raised in the Birdies for Charity pledge-based fundraiser and the Chip In for Charity ticket-sales fundraiser. Additionally, the Travelers Championship raised awareness and funds for local charities through a variety of special events like the Birdies for the Brave Golf Outing, Blum Shapiro 5K for Charity, Premier Limo First Tee Classic, Military Appreciation presented by Saint Francis Care, Golf Digest Junior Pro-Am, Northstar Wealth Partners Celebrity Mini Golf Tournament, Women’s Day presented by Travelers, Powerstation Events Concert Series, and the LEGO® Children’s Charity Golf Tournament.

For the fifth consecutive year, Cohn Reznick was the presenting sponsor of Birdies for Charity, by supporting administration of the program and contributing to a bonus fund for the charities that raised the most money.  

New this year, the bonus bucks pool increased from $15,000 to $50,000 to be distributed among qualifying nonprofits.

“Cohn Reznick is proud to continue our partnership with the Travelers Championship by supporting the Birdies for Charity Program,” said Frank Longobardi, regional managing partner New England for the Glastonbury, Conn.  

office of Cohn Reznick. “The values of our firm mirror the mission of the Travelers Championship. We are fully committed to supporting the tournament by providing all administrative support and creating a Birdies Bonus Bucks incentive program for the Birdies for Charity program. We urge all nonprofit organizations to explore this program and hope to see the funds and nonprofit organizations continue to grow each year.”

As part of the Guess the Birdies Sweepstakes, the grand prize winner received a 24-month lease on a 2014 Ford Fusion SE Hybrid courtesy of Ford Motor Company and a $500 donation, one-year membership and four training sessions from the Connecticut Association of Nonprofits.

Preparation has already begun for the 2014 Travelers Championship, which will be held from June 16 to 22 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn. The Travelers Championship offers special fundraising programs so that all nonprofit organizations in the region can utilize the event as an easy, effective fundraiser. For more information, please visit www.TravelersChampionship.com.

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About the Travelers Championship

As the only PGA TOUR event in the Northeast in early summer, the Travelers Championship is one of the region’s premier sporting events. The tournament proudly supports the PGA TOUR’s Tradition of Giving Back by donating 100 percent of net proceeds to charities. The title sponsor of the event is Travelers, a leading provider of property casualty insurance for home, auto and business. Travelers has been doing business in the community for more than 150 years, and today has more than 7,000 employees in Connecticut. The OfficialProperty Casualty Insurance Provider of the PGA TOUR, Travelers has been a corporate sponsor of this event each year since its inception in 1952, becoming title sponsor in 2007. Complete details are available on www.TravelersChampionship.com.