Here is the latest on our First Tee project!
Article from The Morning Call Newspaper
From the Fringe
"Full-size Willow Brook looking for a dreamy neighbor!"
By Larry O'Rourke
Of The Morning Call
May 8, 2002
It wasn't that long ago that the Fuller family had dreams of adding a second nine holes to its Willow Brook Golf Course in Catasauqua. That dream fulfilled, the Fullers now hope a new neighbor will pop up on an adjoining parcel of land.
Willow Brook hosted 56 Lehigh Valley golfers Monday in a tournament to benefit a proposed First Tee program that, if all goes as planned, would operate next to Willow Brook. The local First Tee program would be run by Embrace Your Dreams, a non-profit organization that administers a tennis program at Allentown's Adams International Tennis Academy.
EYD would work with area high schools to recruit youths ages 11-18 who otherwise would not have a chance to play golf, EYD program committee member Gail Clewell said.
''Golf is a sport that builds life skills,'' Peter Fuller said. ''The sport could be the vehicle that helps enhance kids' lives for the long-term.''
Youths would learn about golf from accomplished local amateurs and professionals. The youths would help with maintenance work at the First Tee facility because it will be their golf club and a part of their summer activities as many as five days per week.
''We're looking to build a small facility where we could teach golf skills, mentor kids and have a three- to nine-hole course where they could actually play,'' said Mark Fine, an EYD board member.
The goal would be to have as many as 500 children participating in the program within five years.
''We wouldn't be looking for a kid whose parents belong to Lehigh Country Club,'' said Fine, an LCC member. ''In tennis, we have a seven-session program that we charge them $20 [total] to participate in.''
In addition to seeking donations to buy the property for a First Tee facility, organizers eventually would need funds to buy clubs and bags and provide transportation to and from the facility.
First Tee was started in 1997 and last year had 60,000 youths involved around the nation, but not one in the Lehigh Valley.
''I think golf is a great in for us to get involved with helping kids,'' EYD program committee member Bob Bryan said. ''There's an inner-city awareness of golf because of Tiger Woods. … I'd love for one of the kids we have who goes through this program to become a state champion. But we're looking at it more as a way to have a positive influence on a lot of kids.''
Corporations or individuals interested in helping the local First Tee program can write to Embrace Your Dreams, 1166 N. Sherman St., Allentown, PA 18103, or call EYD at 610-740-1690.