MILWAUKEE – Dec. 14, 2004 – The U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee will donate a record amount of $600,300 to various charitable causes and organizations in 2004, it was recently announced by Bryce Edwards, president of the tournament's board of directors. The $600,300 contribution brings the total amount donated in the six years since the tournament's return to the summer golf schedule to just over $3.1 million.
U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee will donate a record amount of $600,300 to various charitable causes and organizations in 2004, it was recently announced by Bryce Edwards, president of the tournament’s board of directors.
The $600,300 contribution brings the total amount donated in the six years since the tournament’s return to the summer golf schedule to just over $3.1 million. The U.S. Bank Championship has donated over $4.5 million to charity since its move to Brown Deer Park Golf Course in 1994.
“The announcement that the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee is donating the record amount of $600,300 to charity this year is a fitting exclamation point to golf in Wisconsin in 2004,” said Edwards. “The amount represents an almost 20 percent increase over the half-million dollars contributed in 2003 and adds to the great tradition of giving that the tournament has established over the years.
“With the continued support of our many sponsors and volunteers, we look forward to surpassing the $5 million mark in charitable giving next year. A truly remarkable accomplishment for a truly remarkable event,” Edwards said.
“We congratulate the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee for having such a successful year with a new title sponsor and for elevating the level of contributions they are making to so many worthy charities in Wisconsin,” said PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem. “As the tournaments from our three Tours approach the $1 billion mark in all-time charitable contributions, it’s important to look beyond the sheer dollar amount and recognize the true impact this has on individual lives. We look forward to hearing about future successes in Milwaukee.”
"U.S. Bank has a 150-year history of supporting the Milwaukee community through grants, volunteer activities, community investment and event sponsorship,” said Andy Randall, president of U.S. Bank in Wisconsin. “We are honored to continue that tradition through our sponsorship of the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee and proud of the help that the event gives to the charities that benefit from its success year after year.”
Of the $600,300 total given in 2004, $65,000 in tournament proceeds was contributed to two organizations whose mission is the support of junior golf, the First Tee Programs of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin PGA Junior Foundation.
The First Tee was created in 1997 as a collaboration between all of the major golf organizations in the United States. The goal of the program is to create new facilities and affordable access to golf, with special emphasis on youngsters who otherwise may not have an opportunity to experience the game. The Wisconsin PGA Junior Foundation offers educational materials, conducts camps, gives free lessons and clinics, and awards scholarships in addition to conducting over 50 tournaments statewide reaching youths in over 4,000 families.
In addition to the $65,000 donated to the First Tee Programs of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin PGA Junior Foundation, $151,550 in funds was distributed to the 37 organizations who participated in the U.S. Bank Championship Ticket Program, in which 100 percent of the revenue generated by the sale of tournament tickets given to an organization is kept by the organization.
A total of $117,750 was given to the event’s 10 operational charities, in which an organization volunteers its time during the operation of the tournament in exchange for a cash contribution.
Donations totaling $125,000 were made to causes designated by the U.S. Bank Championship’s major partners Aurora Health Care and Kraft Foods. The Aurora VNA Hospice Programs and Madre Angela Dental Clinic were designated by Aurora Health Care. The Athlete’s for Youth, Betty Brinn Children’s Museum, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, Children’s Hospital and Health System, Habitat for Humanity, MACC Fund, March of Dimes, Muscular Dystrophy Association, and United Ways of Brown, Dane, Fox Cities, Kenosha, LaCrosse and Rock Counties were designated by Kraft Foods.
The fifth annual Charity Shoot-Out at the U.S. Bank Championship generated a contribution totaling $26,000 which was split among the charities selected by the participants and distributed in accordance to their performance during the event. These organizations included the Boys and Girls Club of the Fox Valley, Children’s Hospital and Health System, the MACC Fund, the Jerry Kelly Scholarship Fund and Very Special Arts of Wisconsin.
Additionally, $50,000 was split between the American Cancer Society, Cystic Fibrosis and the Carlos Franco Foundation as part of The Crestor Charity Challenge, a season-long weekly competition that recognizes the tournament leader entering the final round at most PGA Tour events throughout the year.
The World Golf Foundation received $50,000 and amounts totaling $15,000 were distributed to various other charitable causes.
The 37th U.S. Bank Championship was won by Carlos Franco, who joined Scott Hoch, Loren Roberts and Jeff Sluman as two-time winners of the tournament since its move to Brown Deer Park Golf Course. The 38th annual event will be held July 21-24 at Brown Deer Park Golf Course in Milwaukee.
Information on tickets and business packages is available by calling (414) 540-3800. U.S. Bank is part of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB). With $193 billion in assets, U.S. Bancorp is the sixth largest financial services holding company in the United States. The company operates 2,346 banking offices and 4,621 ATMs in 24 states, and provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions. U.S. Bancorp is home of the Five Star Service Guarantee in which the company pays customers if certain key banking benefits and services are not met. Visit U.S. Bancorp on the web at www.usbank.com.
The U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee is a non-profit event that contributed over $600,000 to Wisconsin charities last year and more than $4.5 million since 1994.
