Inner City Youth Golf Program

This program was developed to introduce the game of golf to children living in Canada's poorest neighbourhood, the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver.

When I first took on the responsibilities as Head Golf Professional at the McCleery Golf Course in 1998, I attempted to establish a very active and thorough lesson program, which would rival more established facilities such as Westwood Plateau and the University Golf Course. Within our first year, the success of our programs became very evident. Our adult and junior programs were bursting at the seams.

As I took stock of our programs, I realized that there was one common denominator among our customers. They all seemed to come from either wealthy or very comfortable backgrounds. A parent would usually drop off the children for the day, and most of them were already in possession of top-line equipment. I don't think our junior camps and programs were really any different than most junior programs out there in that they usually cater to kids who have parents who play, or, have grown up in an environment that would allow them access to golf courses, either public or private.

There was an element of society that we were definitely missing. The poor. It was not unusual for me to have to drive through the Downtown Eastside on occasion, and I often wondered to myself, what it would be like for a young child to grow up in that environment. It is very easy for people like myself, who have it pretty good in this world, to take for granted how truly lucky we are. Teeing it up on a sunny afternoon, on a beautifully manicured golf course, would never even enter the realm of possibility for children living in the Inner City.

So in our second year of operation at McCleery I started a program that would cater to that element of society only. The children that would be in our program would have to live in the Downtown Eastside, and to ensure that our enrolment was restricted to those children only, I recruited the assistance of the head counselors at the three Community Centers that are located within that boundary, Strathcona, Thunderbird, and Ray-Cam. Since this type of program had not been offered in the past, the counselors were only too happy to assist in any way they could, and over the years, they have played a major role in the enrolment aspect of the program.

We had several challenges in our first year. Firstly, I had to raise money, since this type of endeavor would only work if it were free to the children. Our major expenses were, the hiring of buses and drivers to transport the children back and forth each day to the golf course, the hiring of qualified CPGA Professionals to provide the instruction, hot meals each day at the golf course, snacks and refreshments, printed matter, prizes, gifts and trophies. In our first year of operation, the budget was around $7,000.00, because the camp was for one week only. It was also important for us to keep a low profile for this program, as many of the children involved come from high-risk backgrounds, and we could not place them in an environment where they could be in danger.

My main funding at that time came from private individuals, the mens and ladies club members of both the Mccleery and Langara golf courses, and a couple of small corporate donations.

The popularity of the program grew very quickly, and for the next 6 years, we doubled the enrolment, and held it over two separate weeks in August. With the growth, came increased expenses. I then was able to recruit the assistance of Mr. Fred Clarke, who is a long time personal friend, and who has become our largest contributor each year thereafter, along with G & F Financial Group who were onboard for three years, the Vancouver Optimists, as well as the mens and ladies golf clubs. The enrolment grew in our first year from 35 kids, to our present situation of about 90 to 100 kids each year. Our budget also doubled.

Every year we are faced with a new set of challenges, and thus far we have been able to meet those and move forward, with the goal of providing disadvantaged children with the opportunity to learn to play this wonderful game of golf, and at the same time give them a chance to have a very positive life experience. This is more than a typical golf camp for kids. Our aim is to make a difference in a kid’s life, even if it is for only one week each year. That will always be our main focus.

However, our next move is to provide a foundation for additional growth. That means we need to secure more funding through such programs that are offered by companies like Telus, and to do that, and to qualify, we need to become a registered charity or a registered NPO (non-profit organization). I have already received the blessing and assistance of the RCGA, who have provided caps, T-shirts, and clubs.

It is pretty obvious that this is a labour of love for me, and I derive a great deal of satisfaction and enjoyment from being involved.

Muncie Booth
Founder

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