American Express awards more than $1 million to 16 desert charities from 2024 event
For Paula Simonds, the money from The American Express golf tournament charity distribution day is important for immediate use for a specific project.
"This is allowing us to create a new project," said Simonds, the CEO of Family YMCA of the Desert. "It's an outdoor childhood space at our La Quinta Childhood Center and our Doris Mechanick Child Development Center in Indio. So what we are doing with this is creating an outdoor environment that really helps adapt to those children ages, really, infant through school age."
The Family YMCA of the Desert was one of 16 desert charities to receive funds Thursday at the charity distribution breakfast for the 2024 American Express through its Impact Through Golf Foundation. Held at La Quinta Country Club, one of three courses used in the annual PGA Tour event, the foundation's annual event handed out $1,050,000. That raises the tournament's total distributions to $66 million since the tournament's inception in 1960.
The tournament is in its second year of a reworked distribution plan that sees fewer charities getting grants, but each of the charities receiving more money. In addition, two charities -- the Family YMCA of the Desert and the F.I.N.D. Food Bank -- received money for large projects as part of a two-year pledge from the tournament.
"We are very grateful for the opportunity to receive funding," Simonds said. "As I always say, it takes a vision to create and impact, and our team at YMCA had a vision just to make it a more entertaining, inviting (educational) space."
Madge Thomas, president of the American Express Foundation, told the gathering that the desert tournament is a key part of American Express' desire to have an impact on local communities and small businesses.
La Quinta Mayor Linda Evans, a member of the Impact Through Golf board, explained to the gathering how each of the 16 charities will use the money in the coming year.
The charities receiving grants this year were Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Desert, the Boys and Girls Club of Cathedral City, the Boys and Girls Club of the Coachella Valley, the Boys and Girls Club of Palm Springs, Coachella Valley Volunteers in Medicine, the First Tee of the Coachella Valley, the Coachella Valley Rescue, Mission, Family YMCA of the Desert, F.I.N.D. Food Bank, Galilee Center of Mecca, the Hunter Lopez Memorial Foundation, Jewish Family Services of the Desert, the John F. Kennedy Memorial Foundation/Ophelia Project, Martha Village and Kitchen and the Pueblo Unido.
Frank Marzano, chairman of the Impact Through Golf Foundation, said he was proud of the work the board has done in elevating the tournament as well as the board's presence in the desert.
"As a board, by any metric that you would look to measure for the host organization of a PGA Tour event, we just absolutely kill it," Marzano said. "The amount of money we raise, the amount of fun we have doing it, and even the decisions we are making."
The 2025 American Express will be played Jan. 16-19 at PGA WEST in La Quinta and La Quinta Country Club. Single-day tickets for the tournament are now on sale. Daily grounds tickets are $70 Thursday, $114 Friday or Saturday good for golf and concerts after play on the PGA WEST driving range, and $85 for Sunday's final round. Clubhouse daily tickets are $135 for Thursday or Sunday and $165 for Friday or Saturday.
Information: theamexgolf.com
Article reprint courtesy of the Desert Sun. Copy: Larry Bohannan, Photos: Jay Calderon