USGA Awards $34,000 for the Creation of a Campus Driving Range

Funds will go to develop an on-campus driving range for student instruction.

ASHEVILLE – November 2007 – Eliada Home has received a $34,000 grant from The United States Golf Association (USGA) for the creation of a campus driving range. The driving range will support student and family golf instruction for the many students served by Eliada’s residential, day treatment, foster care, community support, and child development programs. USGA funding is in addition to a significant lead gift made by Eliada philanthropists Dr. & Mrs. James Weilbaecher.

The driving range will provide an instructional and practice facility for youth whose family and economic backgrounds make it unlikely that they would gain exposure to golf otherwise. The new golf program will be part of Eliada’s continuum of Enhanced Services, which currently includes seven competitive athletic teams, a therapeutic equestrian program, and a minibike program. These services augment the mental health programs at Eliada by providing incentives for goal attainment and opportunities to develop confidence and character.

According to Eliada CEO Mark Upright, “In a short-term sense, our focus is on skill development and achievement of personal golf and treatment goals. In a long-term sense, we hope to provide our students with new experiences to promote confidence, character, and sportsmanship. In becoming proficient at a game as intensive and characteristically exclusive as golf, we hope our students will be inspired to feel that other goals that seem out of reach can also be accomplished. For our foster families and community support families, we hope that family golf instruction will lead to stronger family connections and quality family leisure time activities.”

Eliada is currently recruiting golf professionals in the community to serve as volunteer instructors. Interested and qualified individuals should contact Laura Elliott at 254.5356 x132 or lelliott@eliada.org for more information.

About the USGA
The USGA is the national governing body of golf in this country and Mexico, a combined territory that includes more than half the game’s golfers and golf courses. 

The Association's most visible role is played out each season in conducting 13 national championships, including the U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open and U.S. Senior Open.  Ten additional USGA national championships are exclusively for amateurs, and include the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Women's Amateur.

The USGA also writes the Rules of Golf, conducts equipment testing, maintains an official Handicap System and administers an ongoing "For the Good of the Game" grants program, which has allocated more than $58 million over 11 years to programs that seek to grow the game.  For more information about the USGA, visit www.usga.org.

About Eliada
Eliada is a 105 year old non-profit agency serving North Carolina’s children and families. Founded in 1903 by Dr. Lucius Compton as a home for women and children, Eliada’s full service continuum includes NAEYC accredited Child Development Services (Pre School, After School, Summer Camp, More at Four); Residential and Day Treatment for children and adolescents; In Home services; Foster Care and Therapeutic Foster Care; and Therapeutic Recreation services. The agency enters its second century with pride, committed to the fulfillment of its mission statement: Helping Children Succeed.