Every year, TDS puts on a golf event to benefit local charities. There is a committee designated to making the TDS Open a success and they outdid themselves this year—everyone had a great time, were treated to lots of treats and freebies in the goodie bags, and had the chance to win great prizes at the raffle.
The best part about the event however, is the fact all that hard work really pays off. This year, the earnings were designated to two local charities: Dane County Crime Response Program and Tri 4 Schools. In total, $30,000 dollars was raised with the two charities splitting the money 50/50.
Since I happen to work for TDS and be the Board Chair for Tri 4 Schools, I wanted to expound a bit on how much this can mean to a local non-profit. In 2014, we started an after school program that teaches kids how to exercise the right way, provide them with healthy snacks—and gives them an understanding of on what a balanced diet looks like. With the donation from TDS alone, Tri 4 Schools can continue the program next year, and even add on a number of schools to our current list of six.
Since our Tri 4 Schools’ inception in 2011, we have given back over $100,000 dollars to area schools, and this money will go a long way in making sure that number continues to rise. This money is typically used to purchase new gym equipment, new playground equipment, or to enhance the school lunch program. The typical annual physical education budget for schools in the area is $250 dollars per year. Some schools have been given checks for thousands of dollars for just one year. Every dollar helps.
I’m so thankful for TDS selecting our organization as one of the beneficiaries, and very happy that so many TDS employees and vendors are willing to take up one of their precious Saturdays in the summer to give back to good causes. Whether they were a par golfer or just learning the game, everyone had a great time Saturday—and we could all feel better knowing that just by swinging clubs, we were making a difference.
Cheers to that!
