TEACHING. REACHING. Oakland
CHANGING LIVES.
We’re making a difference! April Kenyon was named Executive Director of The First Tee of Oakland in the spring of 2010 and has overseen unprecedented growth within the chapter. Here, she talks about the delights of her term and challenges ahead: What do the kids say about The First Tee? April: It’s pretty much unanimous, and we know this because we survey them at the end of every session: 100% of them have fun! They say they learn a lot, and you can see this in how so many of them have grown and matured into confident players. Several of our advanced players got to participate this summer in the PGA Junior League, and I’m really proud of the way they put the Nine Core Values in action while competing with other teams. What about the parents? What do they say? April: The parents really appreciate the structure of the program. They like the way it’s organized to deliver the Life Skills and Nine Core Values. They love the volunteers and coaches, and how much attention they give and how positive and motivating they are with the kids. And they see a big improvement in their kids’ confidence and respect. You’ve been with the program nearly four years. How has it grown and evolved in that time? April: We’ve seen a substantial growth in the number of young people impacted by the program every year, to more than 2,500 participants in 2013 through our on-course programing, National School Programs and local outreach. We continue to increase the number of young people involved through 16 elementary, middle and high schools and three youth development organizations. Our core volunteer group continues to grow and advance in skills. And on the player
PLEASE CONSIDER THE FIRST TEE OF OAKLAND AS YOU PLAN YOUR YEAR-END GIVING. Your gift of $110 would underwrite a student’s entire eight-week program. With $5,000, your gift will establish The First Tee in an elementary school’s curriculum. Donate at thefirsteeoakland.org or mail your tax-deductible donation to 11425 Golf Links Road in Oakland, 94605.
level, we’ve had our share of success stories – this year in particular, with our first player to make her high school team. (That’s 15-year-old Jasmine Setiyadi. See her story on Page 4.) If the community continues to support and fund The First Tee of Oakland, what’s ahead? April: Hundreds more at-risk and disadvantaged youth in Oakland should have the opportunity to gain valuable life lessons in a safe and supportive environment, and with the necessary funding we can reach more of them. We know that the work we are doing here at The First Tee of Oakland helps more young people graduate from high school on time, with the life skills they need to succeed in college and life and with a desire to positively impact their communities. And so we at The First Tee of Oakland have set a goal to reach 17,000 young people through our various outreach programs by 2017. What do you need most in order to achieve those goals? April: Funding and volunteers. Our goal is to always have a 5-to-1 ratio of participants to volunteers, so that is a priority. We currently have about 45 volunteers and we must increase that to more than 100. As for funding, we are unlike most First Tee chapters in the Bay Area in that we pick up and transport to and from our schools, and in that the vast majority of our participants are on scholarship. So transportation and session fees are our biggest expenses. We also have to pay facility fees, buy healthy snacks and equipment, and fund The First Tee education of coaches.