John Deere Classic Birdies for Charity Program Helps Trinity Lutheran Raise Funds for New Gym Floor

EAST MOLINE, Ill. (June 28, 2007) - The old tile floor in the gymnasium at Trinity Lutheran School in Davenport just had to go.

The school's athletic board wanted to replace it with a shiny new wooden floor for basketball, volleyball, and other activities.

When the leaders of the congregation initiated fund-raising efforts, they began at the grassroots, so to speak: namely, charity golf outings augmented by the John Deere Classic Birdies for Charity program.

Over the course of four years, the golf outings and Birdies' 10 percent bonus program raised $47,000 - enough for Trinity to be able to afford to lay a freshly varnished wooden floor under the feet of its young athletes.

"This was a grassroots program and Birdies helped us do it," said Mark Kilmer, a former John Deere Classic board chairman who is active in Trinity initiatives. "They had an old tile floor replaced with a nice wood floor. We leveraged Birdies quite a bit and got the 10 percent match, which really helped."

Patrick Creedon, a current John Deere Classic board member and a member at Trinity, said the project was completed in 2002. "I think the Birdies 10 percent matching program is outstanding," Creedon said. "Where else can you get 10 percent free money?"

Since completion of the floor replacement project, Trinity has continued to use Birdies for Charity to raise money for its athletic department and its youth group, according to Creedon. In 2004, Trinity sent 20 members of its youth group to Orlando for a church-related function and will do so again this year. This year, the school will use Birdies proceeds to help its athletic department raise money to replace team uniforms.

"It's not like you need huge sums," Creedon said. "You just need everyone to contribute a little."

Under the Birdies for Charity program, individuals or corporations pledge a minimum of one cent per birdie made during the Wednesday pro-am and all four tournament rounds of the John Deere Classic, including playoffs, to the charity or charities of the donors choice. At the conclusion of the tournament, the total number of birdies is calculated and the Birdies office sends invoices to donors. Donors remit their checks to the Birdies office, which then distributes 100 percent of the donations directly to the designated charities.

John Deere underwrites the cost of administering the program so that 100 percent of all monies collected go to the charities.

Buick will give away a new Buick Enclave to the person who correctly guesses the exact number of birdies made during the tournament, Buick is the Official Vehicle of the John Deere Classic and is the Official Car of the PGA TOUR.

The tournament provides a 10 percent bonus to each of more than 400 participating charities through the Birdies for Charity Fund, which is made up of dollars from tournament revenue, individual donors, and the support of corporations through a new Charity Partner Program.

In 2006, the tournament's sixth year at the Tournament Players Club at Deere Run, 1,974 birdies were recorded, meaning that someone who pledged one cent per birdie to a charity would contribute $19.74 to that charity. Many contributors donate to more than one charity.

For more information, please contact Kristy Ketcham, director of the Birdies for Charity program at 309-762-4653 or Patrick Creedon at 563-505-1785.

Members of the Trinity Lutheran Church and School, 1122 W. Central Park Ave., Davenport, will be in the Birdies for Charity exhibit tent on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of John Deere Classic week, July 9-15 at TPC Deere Run.