Category: 2021

Form your team for a fun and challenging evening at TopGolf on Monday, March 28th from 6pm – 9pm for the Battle of the Bays benefiting First Tee – Silicon Valley.  This event is perfect for employee team building or to invite clients, customers, family or friends. Challenge your industry peers to see if they’ve got the game to compete!

Each team can be up to 12 players per Bay. Pick your team name and register your guests. You can all play or some can spectate and cheer your team on! Each team will hit 240 balls playing 2 Top Contender target rounds to gain the maximum points for their team, which will be officially scored on the Top Golf leaderboard. Team with the highest 2-round total will be declared the Winner. Winning Team will be crowned the inaugural “Battle of the Bays” Champion, awarded golf and lunch for 6 at Spyglass Hill Golf Course/Roy’s in Pebble Beach.

Show your philanthropic and competitive spirit by stepping up as a $10,000 Sponsor!

Benefits include:

• One TopGolf Bay with 6 to 12 players
• All-inclusive taco bar buffet and beverages for 12 + 2 cocktails per person
• Raffle Tickets and Tee Prizes (1 of each per team member)
• Sponsor logo and team name featured in all event marketing
• 90% Tax Deductible Donation

Proceeds will benefit FTSV STEM Education and Financial Aid.

FTSV exists to enable kids to build the strength of character that empowers them through a lifetime of new challenges. By seamlessly integrating the game of golf with FTSV’s life skills curriculum, we create learning experiences that build inner the strength, self-confidence, and resilience that kids carry in everything they do. With the belief that ALL kids deserve the chance to grow in a supportive environment with mentors guiding them, we are dedicated to building life-changing programs that are as inclusive, accessible, and impactful as they are fun.

Register here

Or contact our Development Director, Judy Dixon Deaton [email protected] or 408-508-4881.

First Tee – Silicon Valley owes an enormous thank you to SAGA Foundation led by President, David Bartoshuk for their generous $100,000 donation to further develop FTSV programs in the Palo Alto-Redwood City area including at Baylands Golf Links. Their donations to FTSV now total $410,000 over the last four years.  The SAGA Foundation assists nonprofits to work smarter, reach further, and have a lasting impact. They are committed to helping FTSV expand dramatically at Baylands for the benefit of Mid-Peninsula youth and the community. David Bartoshuk, President – SAGA Foundation, says, “SAGA Foundation believes critical problems require bold actions through collaboration, open communication, and entrepreneurship. FTSV continues to be a touchstone of what can be accomplished through creative teamwork and the knowledge that together we can make positive, long-term progress.” “David and the SAGA Foundation are showing incredible generosity towards and support of FTSV’s future at Baylands Golf Links and in the lives of youth throughout the Mid-Peninsula.” said FTSV President & CEO, George Maxe. “In addition to SAGA Foundation, we are actively partnering with the City of Palo Alto to make significant improvements to Baylands Golf Links so that FTSV can expand our footprint and public golfers can enjoy more practice area amenities.” FTSV is very grateful to SAGA Foundation and looks forward to impacting many more Mid-Peninsula youth at Baylands Golf Links.

The 2021 Challenge Cup was awarded to Almaden Country Club scoring 440 Points – the most of the competing clubs.  The real winners are the kids who will receive financial assistance from the $53,450 in donations. This support helps us to create a sense of belonging for all kids – no matter what walk of life.  The 160 participating club members will be supporting 200 deserving youth.

The 3^rd Annual Challenge Cup was an inclusive and friendly challenge between golf clubs benefiting First Tee – Silicon Valley (FTSV) to help us grow the game of golf while building game changers in our community. It was an opportunity for golf clubs to demonstrate their philanthropic spirit of giving back to a non-profit closely associated with their favorite past time. This year we had 3 Golf Club head-to-head challenge matchups competing for the Challenge Cup on Friday, December 3^rd.

• Almaden 440 points vs. La Rinconada 425 points – Raised $18,850
• Sharon Heights 432 points vs. Menlo 413 points – Raised $25,900
• Silver Creek vs. San Jose Fundraiser – Raised $8,700

All teams were encouraged to include men, women and seniors in their team tally. Each participant made a donation to benefit the FTSV. The format was a Point Par Scoring with 100% of Handicap — Net Par 1 point, Net Birdie 2 points, Net Eagle 3 points, and Net Albatross 4 points. The aggregate of top 24 scores from each club determined their team score. The team scores were compared to rival club to determine each match up club winner.  Special thanks to all the Club Pros for assisting with coordination, promotion and scoring.

All money raised by both teams was donated to FTSV in the name of the winning club plus bragging rights!  The team with highest overall score among ALL clubs was declared winner of the 3rd Annual Challenge Cup Perpetual Trophy! Congratulations to Almaden Country Club!

If your golf club wants to be a part of the 4^th Annual Challenge Cup or create a fundraiser benefitting FTSV, Contact Development Director, Judy Dixon Deaton to get started 408-508-4881 – [email protected].

95.3 KRTY (San Jose Country Station) held its inaugural Justin Moore Charity Golf Tournament on November 8^th at Cinnabar Hills Golf Club benefitting First Tee – Silicon Valley and awarded us with a $20,000 donation.

The event featured over 140 golfers including Country star Justin Moore, KRTY personalities Gary Scott Thomas and Tony Michaels, local broadcast veteran Randy Hahn and new country artists Ray Fulcher, Ryan Griffin and George Birge. The day was full of fun and dubbed by Gary Scott Thomas as the loudest charity golf event he had ever heard. The dinner kicked off with a 3-song acoustic performance by Justin Moore and the evening finished with a 9-song concert from the new artists.

Another highlight of the evening was the live auction and raffle emceed by Gary Scott Thomas and Sharks TV Voice Randy Hahn which also raised funds for other named charities: The Aubri Brown Club and Cancer Care Point.

Nate Deaton, KRTY’s General Manager and FTSV Volunteer Coach, said “This was a great inaugural event!  When Justin asked me two years ago to put together a charity event for the local community, I knew the First Tee had to be a part of it. I have seen firsthand the impact this non-profit has on kids teaching them golf and life skills. We are looking forward to next year’s event in September of 2022!”

FTSV is very appreciative to have Nate Deaton as a longtime supporter since our inception in 2005. As someone who starting playing golf at age 5, he has been a great advocate of our mission of empowering kids and teens through the game of golf because it was an integral part of his personal development.

George Maxe, President & CEO, played in the FTSV foursome with Board Director Steve Guerrero, Development Director Judy Dixon Deaton and country artist Ray Fulcher. (Pictured below)

The SVB Foundation recently awarded FTSV a $9,000 grant to underwrite financial assistance for 45 underserved participants especially due to COVID hardship. The SVB Foundation is currently focusing on partnering with employees who regularly volunteer to award grants to non-profit organizations that are most impacted by the current pandemic. Matt Crismond, SVB Senior Vice President of Tech, was first drawn to FTSV as an Ambassador and volunteer coach in the Summer of 2018.  Dating back to when he was a summer counselor at a local golf camp, he saw the importance of providing kids with a supportive environment in which they could not only practice and play golf, but more noticeably develop self-confidence, social skills, and healthy lifestyles that they take far beyond the course. When talking about FTSV Matt said, “Seeing the transformation and growth of the kids from the beginning of an 8-week session to the end is by far the most rewarding part of being part of this great organization!”.

Kids are never turned away from taking FTSV’s youth development through golf classes due to an inability to pay. We work to actively create a space of belonging for every kid – no matter what walk of life. Our diversity, empathy and inclusion (DEI) efforts are not a project, program or series of events, but an expression of who we are and a purposeful process to ensure our mission is fulfilled. We offer programs for kids and teens up to age 18. We help kids discover what’s inside of them, guide them to strengthen it, and mentor them to put it into action in everything they do.

FTSV offers financial assistance for our 8-week season on a sliding scale from $20 to $180 depending upon need, which is determined by self-reported household income, number in the household, enrollment in the SFLP, and financial hardship. Due to the impact of Covid-19, our low-income families have experienced increased financial hardship which has increased our number of requests for aid and an increased number of families only able to pay $20. The demand for our classes is at an all-time high with families looking for safe outdoor naturally social distanced activities for their children during a pandemic.

Thank you SVB Foundation for providing the necessary funds so we can expand our financial aid program to more families in need.. Your grant will allow us to continue providing our youth development program which enable kids and teens to build the strength of character that empowers them through a lifetime of new challenges by seamlessly integrating the game of golf with life skills.

For more than 35 years, SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ: SIVB) and its subsidiaries have helped innovative companies and their investors move bold ideas forward, fast. SVB Financial Group’s businesses, including Silicon Valley Bank, offer commercial and private banking, asset management, private wealth management, brokerage and investment services and funds management services to companies in the technology, life science and healthcare, private equity and venture capital, and premium wine industries. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, SVB Financial Group operates in centers of innovation around the world. Learn more at svb.com.

We are proud of First Tee – Silicon Valley participant Franky Sumcad who stole the show at the Silver Creek Valley Country Club (SCVCC) Thanksgiving 9-Hole Skins Game on Nov 27th by winning 7 skins and raising $5,450 for FTSV.

The inaugural Thanksgiving 9-Hole Skins Game was a way of introducing and featuring SCVCC’s Junior Honorary Members* in addition to being a benefit for both First Tee – Silicon Valley and Youth on Course.  The day started with a Golf Clinic with Junior Honorary Members as demonstrators, followed by 9-hole skins game with a gallery of members and representatives from the two charities. The day concluded with awards and acknowledgements plus autographs and pictures with Honorary Members.

The roster of Junior Honorary Members competitors included:

1) Sabrina Iqbal – TCU / California CIF High School Champion, NCGA Champion, SF City Champion, CA Women’s Amateur Champion

2) Katherine Zhu – CAL / Rolex All American, two-time AJGA Champ, #1 player at CAL

3) Caleb Shetler – SJSU / Mountain West Freshman of the year, 2021 US Amateur participant at Oakmont, Santa Clara County Champion, Course Record Holder Cinnabar (60) and San Jose Country Club (59)

4) Francesca (Franky) Sumcad / Valley Christian High School, +1.1 Handicap, # 1 player at Valley Christian, First Tee – Silicon Valley member

Players competed for lowest score on each hole (skin). If the hole is tied, then the skin carried over to the following hole. If a player won a skin, they designated either YOC or FTSV as the recipient of the money won.  

The event was covered by Honorary Member – Janelle Wang (NBC News Anchor). Click here to watch the news story.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW483rVg_q4

Also in attendance to show support for Franky, was SCVCC member and FTSV Board Ambassador Baiba Scott. (Pictured below) and FTSV President & CEO, George Maxe.

* Franky Sumcad was chosen to be a Silver Creek Valley Country Club Junior Honorary Member in July 2021. SCVCC created this program to support young, prominent, local golfers as well as grow the game of golf.  Franky will have access to the club to practice, work at junior clinics, and be a role model for the club’s youth. She has been in the First Tee – Silicon Valley since 2012 and has progressed to our Ace level. Additionally, she has been a volunteer coach for several years coaching our younger participants.

Gracie’s journey in FTSV dates back to 2009. She and her family have been an integral part of our First Tee family ever since. She completed all 5 levels of our program, then volunteered at our admin desk, at outreach events, and as a coach. In the Summer of 2020, Gracie took the next step and became a Program Instructor, where she leads her team of volunteer coaches and teaches participants on Saturdays at Rancho Del Pueblo Golf Course.

“First Tee – Silicon Valley means family to me. I have been able to grow up in this program and make lifelong friendships,” says Gracie. “I absolutely love being a coach with the FTSV,  it is something I look forward to every single week. Every week brings a new experience and this has allowed me to continue to grow as a person.”

In addition to her coaching, Gracie is currently studying Elementary Education at Mission College and working during the week. She has excellent interpersonal and class management skills that she uses with her students, and will serve her well as she continues to pursue education and teaching.

According to Program Director Chris Moreno-Hunt, “Gracie represents what First Tee is all about. She embodies our core values, builds positive relationships, and sets goals that push her to new heights. I am grateful to have coached and worked with her for 4 years. I have seen her hone her leadership skills and positively impact those around her. She is a natural leader and instructor. We are fortunate to have her on our team and part of our First Tee family.”

With coaches like Gracie, our participants are in good hands. Thank you Gracie!

If you would to learn more about joining our coaching team, click here to get started. To view our team of coaches, please visit our staff and board page.

This Fall, 6 schools (5 returning and 1 new) have begun our Community Partner outreach program. Bracher Elementary (Santa Clara), Ellis Elementary (Sunnyvale), Cesar Chavez (San Jose), Spartan Keys (San Jose), Franklin Elementary (San Jose), and Santee Elementary (San Jose) have taken our training and started delivering classes to their students ranging from 1^st grade to 6^th grade.

Unfortunately, COVID put a pause on our Community Partner outreach program for over a year and a half, but our staff worked hard throughout the year to create a robust resource portal for our community partners. The online portal includes varied lessons plans, best practices, and video tutorials. Our goal was to come back stronger and better support our community partners so they have the tools to be successful. We value the community that we serve and we are excited to once again bring back our FTSV life and golf skills experience to our community partners and serve the areas where golf is a relative unknown.

Implementing the community partner program is difficult due to COVID, but due to the collaborative efforts of school principals, site managers, P.E. teachers, youth leaders and our FTSV staff, classes are going well, and we have received positive feedback from the participants. Each lesson of the community partner program consists of learning one of our Nine Core Values and a golf skill through different games set up in gyms, soccer fields, grass fields, or blacktop basketball courts. The equipment that we provide includes oversized plastic clubs, tennis balls, and Velcro targets.

To find out more about our Community Partner outreach program and to inquire about your school becoming a partner, please visit our website, contact [email protected], or call 408-508-4884.

First Tee – Silicon Valley held our annual Mentor-Junior Tournament at Rancho del Pueblo Golf Course on November 13^th.  Twenty-five participants paired with twenty-five mentors, including seven Stanford Men’s Golf Team members, and competed in an alternate shot stroke play tournament. Tournament experience is always valuable for young golfers, especially when they can learn from the accomplished Stanford Men’s Golf Team and form new social bonds with them.

“Watching the participants, mentors (FTSV coaches and Stanford Golfers) and parents/guardians all come together, share laughs, and have a good time is all we could ask for,” said Program Coordinator, Robby Keith. “Our tournaments are great ways for our participants and families to build their skills while forging a family-like community.” 

Thank you to our participants and mentors for attending and making the event fun and formative for all.

FTSV hosts a tournament quarterly, 2 weeks after each season ends. We hope to increase the capacity of these events and encourage many more FTSV participants to join us in our next tournament, which will be our Adult/Junior Tournament on February 26th. We hope to see you there, and look forward to your continued support! For more information on our tournaments please visit our youth opportunity page.

Below are the results of the tournament as well as a few pictures.

Par Division:

1^st place = Jesse Jang and Martin Fu

Birdie Division:

1^st place = Vincent Vo, Nicolas Hernandez, and a Stanford player

Eagle/Ace Division:

1^st Place = Joshua Jang and his Stanford partner

First Tee – Silicon Valley capped off the Fall season with our third Girls Golf event of the year – Fall Festive Play Day on November 13^th. Our 16 girl golfers wore their favorite cozy sweater and joined us for an “unbeleafable” time. The girls played on the course with our female FTSV coaches, and practiced their teamwork skills while playing different themed games including, Pumpkin Golf, Archery Golf, Speed Golf and Beat the Coach Golf. Girl golfers Elsa, Elena, Taj and Zoe sure knew pace of play as they got the fastest time for Speed Golf, finishing hole 3 in less than 4 minutes!

In addition to the golf, the girls used their art skills to decorate their Fall-themed ornaments, and took part in a trivia challenge where Elise and Taj took home the prize which was a pumpkin carved by FTSV coach Jasmine.

“This Girls Golf Play Day was special because we had five new Girls Golf members that joined for the first time. It was also great to see the engagement between our female coaches and the Girl Golfers as we empowered the girls with confidence and helped them develop their skills on the golf course,” shared FTSV Program Coordinator, Gabby Ruiz.

Girls Golf events occur 4 times a year. In each event our female participants play golf games and engage in team-building activities that fosters empowerment, healthy habits, and provides an outlet to build positive self-esteem.

Make sure to join us for the next Girls Golf event by visiting our Youth Opportunity page. Registration for the 2022 Girls Golf Play Day held on February 26^th will open February 9^th. See you in 2022!

Start your Christmas shopping now by clicking here for your choice of 4 Bay Area hometown sports colors while supplies last and support FTSV with our goal of raising $10,000 through this partnership.

d.hudson Golfwear and San Francisco 49ers kicker, Robbie Gould, have partnered together to create the Bay Area RG9 hat series, sales of which will go toward supporting a charitable cause.  Their first collection features iconic images representing The Bay in hometown sports colors.  d.hudson and Robbie have selected First Tee – Silicon Valley as the beneficiary of the first collection, donating a portion of the proceeds to the organization ($5 of $35 website price). 

As a company founded in San Francisco, d.hudson Golfwear is proud to join hometown football star Robbie Gould in giving back to the community.  Rock the Hud with Bay Area pride!

FTSV is a non-profit dedicated to Building Game Changers so all kids have a chance to grow in a supportive environment with mentors, who are accessible, welcoming and impactful, guiding them through a golf program.

Hear Robbie talk about First Tee – Silicon Valley