‘World’s Largest Golf Outing’ Shatters Records
Annual Golf Event Raises $1 Million-‐Plus for Wounded Warrior Project
JACKSONVILLE, Florida (September 21, 2015) – More than 12,300 golfers, including 567 injured service members, teed up for the fifth-‐annual “World’s Largest Golf Outing” at 132 courses in 28 states to raise a record $1,024,242 for Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP).
Since its inception in 2011, the World’s Largest Golf Outing has contributed more than $3 million to WWP. A portion of golfers’ entry fees and 100% of donations benefit the organization whose mission is to honor and empowers Wounded Warriors.
“It’s humbling to see this amazing event evolve into an industry-‐wide initiative,” says Peter Hill, Chairman and CEO of Billy Casper Golf who recently accepted WWP’s prestigious Talkhouse Award. “Raising awareness and critical funds for the brave men and women whose sacrifices secure our freedom is paramount.”
Since 2003, WWP has grown its lifesaving programs and services to meet the growing needs of the constituency it serves. Currently, WWP provides support to more than 76,000 injured service members and over 13,000 caregivers and family support members through 20 free programs and services. These programs and services are uniquely structured to engage warriors, nurture their minds and bodies, and encourage economic empowerment. Through a high-‐touch and interactive approach, WWP’s vision is to foster the most successful, well-‐adjusted generation of wounded service members in our nation’s history.
WWP accomplishes this through programs like the Independence Program (IP), an innovative program created to help injured service members and veterans design their own path from surviving to thriving. IP is a partnership between WWP and the warrior and their family, uniquely structured to adapt to their ever-‐changing needs. IP pairs warriors who rely on their families and/or caregivers because of moderate-‐to-‐severe brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, or other neurological conditions with a specialized case manager to develop a personalized plan to restore meaningful levels of activity and purpose into their daily lives. In many instances, for the cost of one month in an in-‐patient institutionalized brain injury rehabilitation program, WWP’s Independence Program can provide a year’s worth of community-‐based support on a weekly basis to an individual warrior.
Recently, WWP announced a $100 million commitment to its Warrior Care Network™, a new and innovative initiative that partners WWP with some of the best academic medical centers in the nation. Warrior Care Network ensures that injured veterans receive the best mental health care at no cost, and over $65 million to cover both immediate and long-‐term care needs of 400 of this generation’s most seriously injured veterans, who without this funding are most at risk for institutionalization.
“The unwavering support from golfers across the country is beyond words,” says Adam Silva, chief development officer of WWP. “The money raised is helping Wounded Warrior Project create and sustain 20, life-‐saving programs free of charge to injured veterans and their families. Billy Casper Golf and their amazing team, partners and supporters have our sincerest gratitude for another amazing WLGO and we cannot wait for next year.”
Contact: Mattison Brooks – Public Relations Specialist
Email: mbrooks@woundedwarriorproject.org
Phone: 904.451-5590
About Wounded Warrior Project
The mission of Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors. WWP’s purpose is to raise awareness and to enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured service members, to help injured servicemen and women aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet their needs. WWP is a national, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. To get involved and learn more, visit woundedwarriorproject.org.