The GCRO made contributions of $12,500 from its 2021 tournament to local charities and organizations. Included in donations was $1,000 each to Bridge Under The Bridge (top photo, from left, Jovountee Robinson, Bridge director; GCRO co-chairman Mike Murdock; Bridgette Williams-Robinson, Bridge director; and Roger Fuller, GCRO) and the Boys and Girls Club of the Corridor (bottom photo, from left, Mike Murdock, GCRO and John Tursi, executive director).
The TrueNorth Greater Cedar Rapids Open, presented by UFG Insurance, is very proud to announce a total of $12,500 has been given out to various youth and veteran-related charities throughout the Corridor from its 2021 tournament.
“We are very pleased and proud as an organization to be able to make the contributions we have made since our inaugural tournament in 1999,” said tournament co-founder and co-director Jim McPartland. “We have our tremendous sponsors and donors to thank for that. Many of them have stood by us for many years and believe in our mission.”
The GCRO, a 54-hole professional golf tournament, has given back to the community in excess of $230,000 in charitable contributions since it’s inception. Rebounding from a year in which no tournament was held because of the pandemic, McPartland stressed how important it was for the GCRO to be able to make the contributions this year.
“This event is basically an all-volunteer effort,” said McPartland. “To be able to come back after losing 2020 and be able to make the contributions we did was truly a great achievement. It is part of our mission, to give back to our communities. I really want to thank not only all of our volunteers, but especially our unbelievable sponsors and donors. They believed we could come back and we did. Without their support – both monetarily and emotionally – we couldn’t have done it. We are so grateful for them.”
Following is a list of organizations who received donations from the GCRO:
- $2,000 to the Cedar Rapids Optimist Junior Golf Association, which annually organizes at least five golf tournaments locally for junior boys and girls ages 8-18.
- $2,000 divided in varying amounts, to the golf programs at seven different high schools in the Corridor that participated in the GCRO Caddie Program last year.
- $2,000 to Prospect Meadows, a not-for-profit 9-field baseball-softball complex in northeast Marion which hosts youth tournaments.
- $1,000 to the G.I.V.E. Foundation. GIVE is the acronym for Golf for Injured Veterans Everywhere and is an Iowa-based collaboration between the Iowa Veterans Administration, the Riverside Casino & Golf Resort and the Iowa PGA. For more info go here http://giveforveterans.com.
- $1,000 to the Cedar Rapids Salvation Army junior programs.
- $1,000 to the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Corridor, serving Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Marion.
- $1,000 to Foundation 2, a local crises service organization.
- $1,000 to Bridge Under The Bridge, a non-profit Cedar Rapids organization providing hundreds of hot meals to the community daily.
- $1,000 to the John T. Dulle Memorial Fund.
- $500 to the Hunters Ridge Golf Course Junior Golf Program.
Plans are underway for the 23rd edition of the GCRO, which will be held July 19-23, 2022 at Hunters Ridge Golf Course in Marion. Last year, one year after the tournament was canceled, the GCRO drew 118 professional golfers from across the country with Seth Fair from Whitestown, IN., taking home the $30,000 winner’s check. These golfers are aspiring to take the next step in their careers, following in the footsteps of Cedar Rapids own Zach Johnson, just to name one.
Sponsorship and volunteer opportunities are available for this year’s tournament. Please call fund-raising chairman Roger Fuller (319-560-1714) or co-tournament directors Jim McPartland (319-310-5745) or Mike Murdock (319-389-5887) for information. Join our team!