First Tee - Coachella Valley

4 • First Tee – Coachella Valley Magazine • Winter 2022 ENDEAVORS Help wanted! Volunteers sought for variety of roles T he First Tee – Coachella Valley is looking for more than a few good men and women to step up as volunteers. Since the pandemic, the youth organization has been trying to rebuild its strong stable of volunteers, who play a vital role in the success of its programs and activities. Volunteers perform tasks such as helping coach First Tee classes and teaching curricu- lum, assisting at special events, providing social media serv- ices, data entry, and more. "Everybody's gifts and tal- ents can be used in different ways to help the chapter," said Executive Director Teal Guion. Without volunteers, the First Tee – Coachella Valley is un- able to grow and impact the 60,000 kids in the area it's try- ing to reach, according to Pro- gram Coordinator Kyle Winn. Winn also says volunteering is one of the most rewarding experiences a person can have. "Coach with our team and meet our participants for one session and you will not regret one minute of it," he said. ...................................................... >  For more information, email Kyle at kwinn@ftcv.org or call (760) 834-6791. HOW TO GET INVOLVED Swinging success Golf-A-Thon helps raise $30,000 for FTCV W hen you play a lot of golf, you can make a lot of good things happen. That was the case with the First Tee – Coachella Valley's Golf-A-Thon held on Sunday, October 16, at the organization's home course, The Golf Center at Palm Desert. Twenty-one partici- pants helped raise $30,000 for the chapter, as the kids and their coaches played more than 1,000 holes combined in the second- annual event. "The Golf-A-Thon was a giant success this year because we in- creased participation from six to 21 kids and coaches," said the or- ganization's Executive Director Teal Guion. "This increase in families joining the fundraiser allowed the entire community to get behind the kids and teens at First Tee – Coachella Valley." Two of the youth participants – Blake Ventura and Chelsea Weiss – went all out, notching a total of 100 holes from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. while walking the entire time. "It's one of my highlights of the year," said Coach Kyle Winn, who logged 100 holes along with the kids and Coach Mike McFaul. "Golfing with the participants is so rewarding and the fact we get to raise money for the chapter is icing on the cake." Participant Kason Ramirez raised the most money as an in- dividual participant, bringing in more than $1,400. "We can't wait to see what our First Tee – Coachella Valley fam- ilies can do together next year!" Guion said. From left, Coach Mike, Blake, Chelsea and Coach Kyle completed 100 holes.

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